Attack of the Voyagers
by Miles333
Summary: Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Doctor Who_. Sorry, but it's the truth. :(

**A/N: **This takes place just after _Blink_, but a while before _Utopia_. Anyway…read and review? Please? *puppy dog eyes*

**Summary:** Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.

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Chapter One

Martha had never thought she'd be so glad to see the inside of the TARDIS. As she limped wearily through the door, dropping her quiver of arrows onto the floor with a muted thud, she allowed her body to sag against the railing just inside. "Blimey. I never want to see another giant lizard again." Reaching up with one hand, she wiped at a smear of vaguely disgusting goop on one cheek.

"What, you didn't enjoy it? Even _I_ haven't been chased by giant lizards before. Well, not often. Well, not _every_ day." The Doctor grinned widely at her, carelessly dropping his wooden bow onto the floor with a soft clang. He stared at her for a few seconds, then his brow furrowed with concern. "Are you all right, Martha?"

"What?" She followed the direction of his worried gaze, noticing for the first time that the sleeve of her shirt was torn, crimson blood leaking through a large cut on her arm. "Oh, I didn't even notice. I guess that _amazing_ giant lizard bit me when it tried to drag me off to feed to its hatchlings," she murmured pointedly, staring with a detached feeling at the wound. "I was too busy fighting for my life to notice things like being bitten. It took you long enough to come rescue me."

"Here, let me fix you up. I can't have you bleeding all over the inside of the TARDIS," the Doctor said cheerfully, ignoring the comment. He rushed over to the center of the supposed police box, placing a blue folder down on the edge of the computer console. He then began rummaging around for something. What, Martha hadn't the slightest idea.

"Doctor? That woman, the one who came up to you on the street earlier. What did she say to you? She acted like she _knew_ you," Martha noted, walking over to join the Time Lord. She stared at the folder, which was transparent. Oddly enough, she could see a photo of some sort of granite angel statue staring up at her.

"Never met her before in my life." His voice was muffled as he continued digging through some sort of drawer.

"Then how…?"

"It was obvious, Martha. She's met us before, but we haven't met her yet. What is in her past will be in our future. It was something about how we'll be trapped in 1969, and we'll need that folder for some reason. I haven't looked it over yet, so I have no idea what she was talking about. Rather confusing to have a one-sided conversation. That bloke she was with seemed to know me, too."

"Okay, that's more than enough out of y_ou_, Doctor. You're making my head hurt. This time traveling tends to give you cause for some aspirin, yeah?" Martha idly reached into the folder, cautiously pulling out the photo of the angel. Her dark eyes widened as she stared at the fearsome stone face, its lips bared to reveal sharp teeth. "Wow. What kind of statue is this supposed to be?"

"It doesn't really matter. Yet." The Doctor straightened, taking the photo from her hands and stuffing it carelessly back into the folder. He then proceeded to tuck it into the folds of his coat. "Now, where were we?"

"I believe that you were about to stop me from bleeding all over the inside of the TARDIS," Martha remarked, arching a brow.

"Oh, yes! That reminds me! I had those bandages stored down here somewhere…" The Time Lord returned to his rummaging, then finally came up with a roll of white gauze. "Here we are, then. Just hold out your arm, and I'll get you all fixed up." He started unwinding the roll of bandages.

Martha pulled up what remained of her sleeve, wincing at the sight of the deep wound in her flesh. "How I didn't notice that bloody thing until just now, I'll never know," she muttered, rolling her eyes at herself. "It looks like it's almost all the way to the bone."

"It's fixed easily enough." The Doctor began gently rolling the bandages around her arm, a small smile curving his lips as he worked. "I remember one time when Rose was injured by a junkun alien in the Platooa galaxy, and she-" He broke off abruptly, expression becoming one of stone, almost like the statue from the photo. He hurriedly tied off both ends of the bandages, then turned away.

Martha bit down hard on her bottom lip, eyes narrowing. It always came back to Rose Tyler, the Doctor's previous companion. He just couldn't get over her. He was always talking about her, getting that faraway look in his eyes that showed when he was thinking about her. It was hard enough knowing that he didn't return her growing feelings, but always knowing that he was pining away after someone else…that was torture.

"So, where to next? We could do something fun, after the giant lizard incident," the Doctor announced, whirling back around to face her again. He clasped both hands before himself, looking positively pleased with life. "Would you rather see the home of the Saousaens, or go ice skating on Plutoepallas?" he questioned brightly. "They're both rather nice this time of year. Well, not really _this_ time. But we can make this time that time, if you want."

She really had no interest in either of the things that he had mentioned, but didn't outright say so. "Uh…can't we do something more…human?" she questioned halfheartedly. She didn't really care what they did. She just wanted to take a nap and get rid of some of the tiredness seeping steadily throughout her body.

He stared wordlessly at her for several seconds, then bobbed his head energetically. "Right, then. Something human it is!" He hurriedly rushed around the center of the TARDIS, pressing buttons and pulling levers.

"Where exactly are we going?" Martha hugged herself with both arms, ignoring the slight pain in her left arm that the motion caused.

"You'll have to wait and see. But I think you'll like it!" Grinning with excitement, he kicked the side of the computer console, making a ringing sound of sneaker against metal. "There, that should do it. Hold on!"

The TARDIS shook once, the engines whirring to life with that familiar whirring sound. Martha steadied herself by gripping tightly onto the railing with one hand, waiting with nearly overwhelming curiosity. Where exactly was the Doctor taking her now? More than likely somewhere exotic and alien to her, despite her request that their next activity be human. He tended to like spaceships and distant planets in far-away galaxies. She could only pray that it would be entertaining, preventing her from falling asleep on her feet. Before the lizard adventure, they'd gone to what had seemed to be a kind of fifty-ninth century football game, and everything had been spoken in an unfamiliar language.

Martha had been bored out of her mind, but the Doctor had appeared to enjoy it immensely.

She fought to ignore the tiny voice inside her that wondered if the Doctor was taking her to yet another place that he had once taken Rose, like New New York. She shook her head fiercely. So what if she was just a replacement for some fit bird that she'd never even met? That didn't bother her at all.

Right.

"Come on, come _on_!" The Doctor pulled a hammer from under the panels of the TARDIS' heart, slamming it down at what looked to Martha's eyes like random intervals. "Don't give out on me now!"

Unexpectedly, the ship shook and rattled wildly. Martha lost her balance, falling down so hard that the breath was knocked roughly from her lungs. She rolled onto her side and forced herself into a sitting position. "What's happening?" she gasped out.

"I'm not entirely sure! I think something might have just passed by us through the time stream!" he answered her loudly, frowning as he whacked the hammer against the panels a few more times for good measure.

"Is that bad?"

"It depends on what whoever was inside is planning to do when they get wherever they're going," he enunciated in a lower tone, distractedly pulling at two more levers. With another shudder, the TARDIS' frenzied shaking slowed, and everything became completely silent.

Martha slowly climbed to her feet, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Uh…are we there yet?" she inquired cautiously.

He laughed, then turned musing. "Yes, we should be. Unless I miscalculated the side winds that we received from the unidentified passing object. If I did, which I highly doubt, then we might be at least hundreds of years from our destination, for all I know."

"Oh, now _that's_ reassuring," Martha stated sarcastically. She couldn't stop her gaze from drifting involuntarily towards the door. "So…where are we?"

The Doctor nodded shortly towards the door. "Why don't you take a look outside and see?" he suggested.

Martha, unable to keep the eager smile off her face at the thought of what could be waiting for her out there, walked swiftly towards the door. Resting her hand on the cool knob for a moment, she then pushed the door open and stepped outside. Her eyes were greeted with the sight of cobblestone streets and fluttering banners hanging above them, barely visible in the darkness. She selectively chose to ignore the horrible stench wafting to her from all around, a sign of a very unhygienic sewer system. "Where are we?" she breathed, asking the question again. "The past, yeah?"

"London, England." The Doctor suddenly appeared behind her, leaning against the doorframe of the TARDIS and gazing out. "January 15th, 1559; the date of Queen Elizabeth's coronation. The first Queen Elizabeth, that is."

"_Really_? That's...amazing. But didn't we meet her after stopping those three witches in 1599? She wanted you beheaded, if I remember correctly." Martha smirked at the memory.

"Hmmm. Ah, yes. I'd almost forgotten about that, to tell you the truth…" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Who knows, maybe this will be the time when I make her mad enough to ban me from England. That's what happened with Queen Victoria in Scotland once." The Doctor's chocolate eyes filled with unspoken memories.

"Queen Victoria in Scotland? What on Earth did you do to _her_?"

"Rose and I made her angry by stopping a werewolf," the Doctor answered her quietly. "Nothing that exciting." His wistful tone of voice said otherwise.

Martha heaved a sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. Rose again. When would he finally stop mentioning her all the time?

"Right, then! Let's be off. I believe that some of the first public fireworks will be going off somewhere near Westminster Abbey to celebrate the new queen's coronation, if I can remember my history correctly." The Doctor strode down the street, still talking aloud to himself.

Pausing for a moment, Martha glanced around worriedly at her surroundings. There was a mysterious chill in the air, one that made goosebumps rise on the exposed skin of her arms. Her befuddled gaze landed on the alleyway directly to her right, where a shadow that seemed even darker than the others lurked. It was almost the size of a person, but with the strangest shape for a head…

"Come on, Martha! We haven't got time to dally about!" came the Doctor's voice from further down the street, drifting on the faint breeze to reach her ears.

She suppressed a shudder, unable to guess what was making her feel so uneasy, then turned and rushed after the Doctor.

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Okay, guys. Please review. I would really love to hear from you! :D


	2. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Doctor Who_. Sorry, but it's the truth. :(

**A/N: **Enjoy the story, and also be sure check out my new one shot: _It's Gone, It's Gone_. As obvious from the title, it's set during the last few minutes of _Midnight_. :D

**Summary:** Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.

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Chapter Two

Martha was forced to lengthen her strides as the Doctor became farther and farther ahead of her. His figure was already fading into the dusk, long coat flapping soundlessly out behind him as he strolled along. She could still hear the faint murmur of his voice, and it seemed that he was busy talking to himself. He probably didn't even notice that she was gone; that would be _so_ typical of him.

"Doctor! Doctor, wait _up_!" she shouted, starting to lose her patience as the tall man vanished round a corner. She sped up a bit more, finding herself jogging as she turned the correct corner. She then nearly tripped over her own feet as she stumbled hastily to a stop at the sight stretched out before her. The Doctor was nowhere in sight, but that was actually quite understandable. Her view of the whole block was ruined, as hundreds of people were milling about, waiting eagerly for the fireworks celebrating Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

Martha scowled darkly, cursing mentally. That was just like the Doctor. Bring her off to some place, full of strange people that she didn't even know, then just abandon her. Where on earth had he gone? She barely refrained from stamping her foot childishly, settling for simply folding her arms across her chest.

"What are you doing just standing there? We have a coronation celebration to see, Martha Jones!" The Doctor popped up unexpectedly to her left as he heartily spoke the words, grinning widely.

She placed one hand over her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. "For God's sake. What are you trying to do, give me heart failure?" Her severe words were lessened by the laugh she couldn't help sounding.

The Time Lord looked properly abashed, bowing his head sheepishly. "Sorry. I get…excited sometimes."

"And I never would have noticed," his companion muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes heavenward.

"Really? How strange. I always thought that my excitement was highly noticeable, to everyone around me. Back in my…eighth regeneration I think it was, I got quite an earful from an angry alien emperor from Martesopia."

"Regeneration?" Martha forgot her mild annoyance, staring up at the alien's face with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's a pretty long story. Maybe I'll tell it to you someday over tea. But right now, we have places to see and people to be! Or was it places to be and people to see?" He shrugged carelessly. "Never mind; it means much the same thing, I think."

"Really," Martha stated dryly, rolling her eyes. "And I'm holding you to that promise, mister. I want to hear about this mysterious 'regeneration'."

The Doctor didn't answer, simply offering her a sweeping gesture that pointed towards the gathered crowd of bystanders. "Allons-y!"

"What does that even mean?" Martha demanded, walking in the general direction of the large crowd.

"It's French. It means 'let's go'." He said this in a pointed tone of voice, as though it were the most obvious thing on the planet.

"You learn something new every day, I guess." Martha moved around a pair of women, who were speaking excitedly about the new queen. She waited until the Doctor was at her side again, then kept going. She wasn't able to make it very far; the farther she went, the thicker the crowd became. It was impossible to get through, which was very disappointing. She had been hoping to get as close as possible.

"There seems to be a bit of a traffic jam," the Doctor told her, almost apologetically. "If you want, we could go get the TARDIS and use it to get closer…"

"No, this is fine. We can sit on the curb and watch without having to stand the whole time." Martha turned and retraced her steps out of the majority of gathered people, then dropped limply onto the cobblestone. "When do you think the fireworks will start?"

The Doctor sat down beside her, putting both elbows on his knees and resting his head against his palms. "Probably pretty soon, if I were guessing correctly. Queen Elizabeth has always been impressed with the things, or so I've heard. She was the one who made them so popular in Great Britain and the surrounding countries."

"Fascinating." Martha leaned back against a handy metal bin, relaxing as she waited for the show to begin. Not that she was in the mood to hear the complete history of fireworks, which she didn't doubt that the Doctor could and _would_ tell her, but she was relishing the fact that Rose Tyler's name didn't appear to be ready to come to his lips. That always meant a good day for her.

An explosion suddenly went off, causing her to jump as she was caught off guard. She whipped her head around as the cheers started, and saw a spattering of dark blue sparks against the night sky. It was quickly followed by a green firework, then a red one. A smile came to her lips, and she heaved a small sigh.

"Brilliant!" The Doctor turned to her again, his expression animated. "They've already mastered the main mechanisms of creating specific colors in fireworks! Incandescence and luminescence, if I remember correctly." He paused a moment, obviously thinking very hard. "The way of creating different colors for fireworks is really quite interesting, you see. Incandescence is light produced from heat, while luminescence is light produced from energy sources other than heat. It's rather too complicated to explain unless you have some history of dealing with fireworks, but–"

"Doctor," Martha calmly interrupted him, lips pulling up into a small smirk. "Let's just enjoy the show, yeah?"

He blinked once, then looked sheepish once more. "Sorry. You know…getting excited again. I'll keep quiet now. Really." He mimed locking his lips and throwing away the key, then turned his body back towards the exploding fireworks.

Martha found herself also looking towards the fireworks again, for lack of anything better to do. She would have rather been exploring the streets of olden London, seeing how it was different now than in Shakespearean or modern times. But the Doctor obviously had his heart set on watching some fireworks, so she wasn't going to let him down. Her eyes wandered across the dark expanse of the city, broken only faintly by small lamps and the faint glow of the colored explosions. It looked so strange, especially when she was used to cars and streetlamps and busy shops. It was like a whole other world.

Martha found her eyes resting on an alleyway across from their position, squinting into the murky darkness. There almost seemed like there was something there, like what she had seen when first coming out of the TARDIS. She made out a pair of eerily gleaming eyes, and what almost looked like…hair. Lots and lots of dark hair, curling around the glittering eyes and causing the effect of feeling as though you were staring at some kind of giant wig with eyes…

"All right, Martha?" The Doctor's voice jolted her from her dazed stupor, and she stared back at him oddly. "You looked like you'd seen a ghost." He grinned, not bothering to hide his eagerness at the thought.

"I…I thought I saw something over there. Some kind of creature…" She got to her feet, gesturing towards the alleyway. Even when straining her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness.

"What did it look like?" the Doctor asked her with concern, quickly getting to his feet.

"I…I don't really know. Just a pair of eyes…these weird eyes…" Martha rubbed her own pair of dark orbs, frowning. "It was sort of unsettling, actually. There was something about them, something…alien."

"Alien, eh? Well, now that sounds interesting." Reaching into his jacket, the Doctor pulled out a small silver torch, switching it on. He walked confidently towards the alley, ignoring the boisterous celebration still going on behind him. Martha rushed to catch up, his long legs already having already put him several feet ahead of her.

As they reached the mouth of the alley, the Doctor curiously pointed the torch's brilliant beam all around them. The stony tunnel was cavernously empty, with not even a trace of whatever mysterious being that Martha had thought she had seen. Only shadows stretched thinly around them, mostly banished by the torch's light.

"It was here a minute ago…" Martha muttered softly.

"I believe you. That distinctly alien residue agrees with the fact that something was here that wasn't supposed to be." The Doctor took several more steps, deeper into the alleyway, then crouched down beside a small puddle of green liquid. He peered intently at it, eyes narrowing. "I don't recognize it, surprisingly enough." Touching one finger into the slimy goo, the Doctor then brushed it tentatively against his tongue, attempting to identify the substance.

"Don't do that! That stuff is _disgusting_! And who _knows_ what it could do to you!" Martha cried, swallowing hard at the mental image of the Doctor writhing around, lethally poisoned, on the ground. That was going to happen to him one day very soon, if he didn't stop licking everything in sight.

"Well, that wasn't much help," he announced, completely ignoring her exclamation "Never seen or tasted anything like it. Quite strange, really." He carelessly rubbed the offending residue against his jacket, disposing of it from his finger. "And don't worry so much about me. All I ever need is some ginger tea, and it perks me right up." He grinned disarmingly at her.

"Right," Martha answered dubiously. "I'm sure that tea cures you whenever you're poisoned."

"It does. Really. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. The alien residue." He rubbed his chin musingly, staring down at the green puddle. "It almost looks organic, but that's impossible. But maybe…" He slid out his sonic screwdriver, flicking it on without even looking. The pale blue beam shot out, directed at the pile of goo. It quivered pathetically, then unexpectedly dried up in a puff of smoke. All that was left behind was a horrible smell, the odor of something burning. "Hmmm, that was slightly unexpected."

"What happened to that stuff?" Martha moved closer, bending over slightly to get a better look at the sizzling cobblestone.

"It burned up. And don't ask me what that means, because I'm not exactly sure if I really know," the Doctor admitted.

"How can you not know? You're the _Doctor_, for crying out loud. You act like you know _everything_."

The Doctor looked surprised. "I do?"

"Yes, in fact."

"Oh." The Doctor turned back to the faint wisp of gray smoke, the only remainder of the alien ooze. He hunched over the ground, pulling his glasses out. Settling them atop the bridge of his nose, he squinted down at the ground.

Martha crossed her arms over her chest, glancing warily around their position. She couldn't exactly guess why, but something about the lurking darkness circling them made goosebumps appear on her arms. "Doctor, I really think that we should-"

She was cut off by a particularly loud explosion, one that made the buildings around them shake and shudder. Spinning around to see if perhaps one of the fireworks had caught something on fire, she was shocked to see that some sort of large ship was hovering about the city. It was made of black metal, causing the vessel to have a cold and alien look about it. As she gawked up at the ship, a beam of light exploded from its underbelly, striking a crowd of startled onlookers. They all vanished, as though vaporized or turned to dust. On cue, everyone else began screaming and running away, the celebration of fire in the sky already forgotten.

"Oh my God! Doctor, look!" Martha cried, spinning back around to face the Time Lord. He was already on his feet, hurrying quickly over to stand beside her. "What is that thing? And what's it doing to all the people?" She averted her eyes as another small crowd was hit, and every single person once again vanished without a trace.

"It can't be," the Doctor muttered mysteriously, hurriedly folding his glasses and stowing them away in a pocket. "That's _impossible_…"

"What's impossible? Do you have any idea what those things could be?" Martha asked him impatiently. She hated standing by and doing nothing when innocent people were being killed right in front of her like this.

"Unfortunately, yes. A very old enemy of the Time Lords." The Doctor heaved a sigh, pulling out his sonic screwdriver again. He clutched it tightly in one fist. "Almost before my time, if you could believe it. They're known as the Voyagers, though that isn't their true race. There are several races of them, most of their true identities forgotten, and they consider themselves as one. In fact-"

"Why are they doing this? What do they have to gain from killing all those people?" Martha wasn't interested in hearing their bloody life history. She frowned in the direction of the ship, seeing dark figures swinging their way down from it. As each one landed smoothly, it launched itself after a frantically fleeing human.

"We need to get back to the TARDIS. If they catch us in that beam, then it won't be very good for either of us." The Doctor gestured for Martha to start in the general direction of the ship. "Go on, now. Try to walk as fast as you can."

"Why? You still haven't explained anything to me." Martha took three steps out of the alley, then abruptly halted. "Are these things dangerous? And why are they killing all those people?" She cringed as a woman screamed nearby, barely managing to dodge the deadly light.

"Just go. The Voyagers are going to have it in for me if they find out that I'm here, seeing as I'm the last of their mortal enemies." The Doctor glanced worriedly over one shoulder. "And it's possible that some kind of scouts are lurking around, which might have been the cause of the ooze that we found."

"Scouts? Is that…bad?" she asked apprehensively.

"Very. Especially if they have the Voyager equivalent of a stun gun handy, which doesn't work too well in my system. Believe me. I haven't exactly experienced it firsthand, but I don't really feel the urge to." He gently pushed her forward, keeping close to her side as they both started back towards where they had left the TARDIS.

Martha had a very bad feeling about this.

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Much thanks goes out to Churnok, Nightwatcher'sunknowngirl, and DawnCandance for reviewing on the last chapter. I would appreciate some more reviews on this one! *hint, hint*


	3. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Doctor Who_. Sorry, but it's the truth. :(

**A/N: **Nothing much to say, except thanks to all of you for the wonderful reviews on the last chapter. I would apprectiate it if you all reviewed again after reading, okay? Fantastic! :D

**Summary:** Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.

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Chapter Three

"Doctor, wait up!" Martha panted out, breathing already labored and lungs aching. The Time Lord was by now quite a ways ahead of her, his long legs quickly causing her to fall behind. Why _on earth_ had they parked the TARDIS so far away?

Thankfully, the Doctor paused until she had somehow managed to catch him up. He then reached out and took her hand firmly in his own. His dark eyes were wide against his unusually pale skin, more with excitement than fear, Martha suspected. He would never be afraid of something as simple as attacking alien scum. She had no idea what he actually _was_ afraid of, if anything. And she wasn't so sure that she wanted to find out. Whatever scared him had to be beyond horrible.

"Come on, Martha Jones. You've got to _run_!" he urged her quickly, as though she hadn't already figured this out. He flinched as a loud scream erupted nearby, looking momentarily torn. He more than likely wanted to run back and help those poor people, instead of getting to safety like a sane person.

"You haven't even told me what they'll do if they catch us!" Martha told him indignantly, scowling as she tried to distract him from running off.

"Let's hope you never find out."

Hearing the real graveness hidden in the Doctor's serious voice, Martha took a big step forward, tugging him along behind her. "Oi! If they're so dangerous, why are we just standing around, then?"

The Doctor grinned at her for a moment, then took off at an almost alarming rate, pulling her along with him. Martha could only hope that their increased speed meant they were getting closer to their desired location of presumed safety: the police public call box also known as the TARDIS.

"Are we...getting any...closer?" Martha gasped out, her lungs squeezing painfully. She never got used to all this running, even though it was an almost daily occurrence for the two of them.

"Should be…just around the corner. Only a quick tick away!" the Doctor declared brightly, obviously trying his best to keep her spirits lifted.

Martha didn't answer this, saving her precious oxygen for the home stretch that the Doctor insisted that they were swiftly approaching. Throwing a worried glance over one shoulder, she found that she could no longer see the area where the fireworks had been going off, or any of the frantically fleeing people. She didn't really know if this was a good sign or not.

They rounded the promised corner, only to find the TARDIS nowhere in sight. Martha wasn't exactly amused, pulling her hand from the Doctor's and frowning silently at him.

The Doctor awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck with his freed hand. "Well…I _thought_ that it was this corner. Maybe the next one?"

"It had _better_ be," Martha ground out with minor annoyance, trying to catch her breath. "If we get kidnapped by aliens and don't make it back for Leo's birthday party in three days, Mum'll kill me. Kill _us_, even!"

"Oh…I'd forgotten about that…" the Doctor muttered, looking nervous. "In that case, I really _am_ sure that it's right around the corner."

"Thought so," Martha said teasingly.

"Sir, I must demand that you halt in the name of the Crown!" came an unfamiliar voice from behind them. Both turned, Martha feeling her eyes widening involuntarily. None other than the new queen of England, Queen Elizabeth the first, was hurrying towards them. A guardsman dressed in a crimson uniform was carefully guiding her, obviously the one who had spoken. "Who are you?" he asked loudly when he reached them, fingering the sword hilt that was protruding from his belt. He kept himself between them and Queen Elizabeth.

"I'm the Doctor, and this is Martha," the Doctor said guardedly, eyeing the queen speculatively. Martha could only assume that he was wondering what he was going to end up doing that would cause the queen to banish him from Great Britain. Only the Doctor would think of something like that when aliens that had been blowing up crowds of people were pursuing them. She could almost hear the wheels turning in his head as he studied Her Majesty.

"Might I see some credentials?" The guard impatiently held out a gloved hand.

"Oh, yes. Um…I know I've got them here somewhere…" The Doctor patted himself down, finally reaching into a pocket in the depths of his coat. He held out the official-looking psychic paper, which the man took from him.

After studying the actually blank paper for several long seconds, the man handed it back with a brisk nod. "I am Sir David, and you know who this is, of course," he added respectively.

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am. Uh...under the circumstances, that is." Martha curtseyed, glad that she was still wearing her skirt from the trip to the 60's. She still hadn't gotten a chance to change out of it yet.

"Likewise, child," the queen responded calmly, her chin held high.

"Do you have a safe residence nearby?" Sir David demanded, shooting a look over one shoulder. All of them clearly heard the echoing screams that rang out, and Martha could have even sworn that she saw a flash of blue light not too far off.

"Well, you could say that," the Doctor replied affirmatively.

"Then you must surrender it to us in the name of the Crown, for Her Majesty's safety," Sir David commanded.

The Doctor nodded absently, his gaze focused somewhere off to the left. "Right this way, Your Majesty. And as I once said, or _will_ say later in the future, I recommend a brisk jog, as a doctor. It's really quite good for the health."

Queen Elizabeth arched a brow, clearly not certain that he wasn't a complete madman. But nonetheless, she allowed Sir David to quickly lead her forward in the supposed direction of the TARDIS.

"You'd better hope it's where you say it is this time," Martha murmured to him, still unable to believe that she was walking hurriedly along with an actual queen of England. It was _amazing_! Except for the whole strange-creatures-chasing-them-through-the-streets thing, anyway.

"Oh, I'm _sure_ that the TARDIS is just ahead," the Doctor said determinedly. It almost seemed like he was trying to convince himself of this fact.

"Well, then. Allons-y!" Martha burst out, repeating the French phrase he had used earlier.

She earned a wide grin, the Doctor appearing rather pleased with her choice of words. "Couldn't have said it better myself, Marth–"

He was interrupted when a loud voice bellowed from somewhere behind them, speaking in painfully halting English. It seemed to be coming from some sort of loudspeaker system, reaching the entire, panicked city. _"Human creatures, dwellers of this pathetic and useless planet! We have beaten your race! Turn yourselves over peacefully to the scouts that we are now releasing, or your utterly useless existences will be terminated sooner instead of later!"_

"All right, then! I always love a good chase!" the Doctor exclaimed cheerily, just as they rounded the next corner. The TARDIS was certainly where he had promised it would be this time, which gave Martha a feeling of tremendous relief. But a man and two women who were apparently seeking shelter were unexpectedly jerking at the twin doors, ruining the otherwise perfect scene.

"Oi!" the Doctor shouted, obviously annoyed that someone would even _think_ about breaking inside his precious TARDIS. "Don't do that!" He jogged towards the time-traveling machine, long coat billowing dramatically out behind him.

"Where is this shelter you spoke of?" Sir David wanted to know, staring warily at their surroundings.

"Um, right over there." Martha pointed vaguely in the direction of the TARDIS. She tried to ignore the goosebumps rising on her bare arms, rubbing them both vigorously. Why did she have that strange sensation that she was being watched again? She could only hope that it was merely her imagination.

"That…_blue box_ is no proper safe house for Her Majesty!" Sir David looked only a few seconds away from drawing his sword and carving the air.

"Actually, it's just the opposite," Martha insisted, for some reason feeling obliged to defend the TARDIS. "That, uh, blue box is really quite safe–"

And then she caught sight of the blaze of blue light from the corner of her eye, glistening in the night sky above them. Turning to look heavenward, she was momentarily struck by the alien beauty of the beam of light that was exploding downwards. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as she stared at it, and three seconds felt oddly like an eternity, especially when she saw which direction the beam was headed.

Directly towards the TARDIS, where the Doctor was trying in vain to convince the trio of humans to go elsewhere for cover.

"_Doctor_!" Martha screamed, even though she somehow knew that she was too late. She watched as his head flew up to see the downward-plummeting beam heading straight for him and the TARDIS. "Doctor, look ou–"

The beam struck, surprisingly silently. The lack of a large explosion was very anticlimactic, though the burst of wind that held the extreme force of a nor'easter made up for it. Martha could only stare in horror as the TARDIS and three innocent people vanished into thin air. The Doctor, on the other hand, was tossed limply backwards like an abandoned rag doll. He landed hard on the cobblestone, rolling several feet before coming to an abrupt halt.

"Good heavens! What in the name of God's green earth _was_ that thing? I've never seen such a thing in all my life..." the queen shrilled, continuing on frantically after those words.

But Martha didn't hear any of them. She ignored the queen, though she knew it was probably a crime with a severe punishment, and rushed over to the Doctor. "Doctor, are you all right?" she asked nervously, upon being presented with the sight of his closed eyelids when she knelt beside him.

The Doctor sat up unsteadily at the sound of her voice, not appearing to even notice the nasty cut on his forehead. His brown eyes were very wide, almost uncharacteristically. "That's impossible," he breathed, clearly in some state of minor shock. "Impossible. The TARDIS…they can't have–"

"It's going to be all right, Doctor. We're going to get the TARDIS back." Martha was quick to reassure him, though she actually had not the slightest idea of how they would accomplish this seemingly impossible feat.

The Doctor nodded woodenly, muscles working in his throat as he swallowed hard. Not accepting Martha's offered hand, he shoved himself to his feet, then pulled her up with him. "Of course," he uttered, clapping his hands together. "Right, then! Let's see. The TARDIS clearly couldn't have been dissolved into dust, as I saw no dislodged particles when the beam hit. Also, the explosion gave off no heat, which means it wasn't meant as a destructive force. She was simply there, then...she wasn't. But it _couldn't_ have been a teleport, since I'm pretty sure that I tasted a couple of _ion_ partices in the air..."

"Right," Martha said encouragingly.

The Doctor madly ruffled his hair, causing it to stand up in random directions. "My _head_! Why can't I _think_?" he shouted, brow furrowing deeply. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezed tightly shut, obviously trying to force a brilliant idea to suddenly come to mind.

"I _demand_ to know what's happening, right this instant!" the queen yelled in a very un-queenly manner. "What are you mad people rambling on about?"

The Doctor stared at her with unsuppressed interest, his eyes bright. "Are you thinking about beheading anyone?" he inquired, dilemma with the TARDIS momentarily forgotten as he apparently remembered her angry words from 1599.

"Not _yet_!"

"Blimey, she has a temper," the Doctor muttered under his breath, pulling a face. "She actually quite reminds me of a fire-breathing Lecivaan that I once met..."

Martha, staring over the Doctor's shoulder, saw an unexpected blur of movement. A reasonably large creature with coldly glittering eyes loomed up behind the Doctor, unnoticed by the latter as he bantered with the queen of England. The creature was covered in dark fur, and its hands were ugly and clawed. Large, pointed teeth protruded from between its thick lips, and its nose was monstrously upturned. Something green and disgusting dripped from its matted fur, just like what the Doctor had discovered back in the alley.

"Doctor!" Martha gasped, pointing frantically behind him.

The Time Lord reacted instantly, spinning around at the same time that his hand reached into his coat for the sonic screwdriver. But before he could even defend himself, the creature raised one of its own hands. Martha was very alarmed to see a small, silver weapon moving to point towards the Doctor. Before she could even blink, much less sound the warning, a burst of red light pulsed from one end of the device. It struck the Doctor directly in the chest. With a cry of pain, he dropped to the ground like a stone, and didn't get back up again.

Before Martha could run to his side, there was a blindingly brilliant explosion of color. All she could see was the blue light of the alien beam before her eyes, then…nothing.

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Give this story some love, and REVIEW! :)


	4. Chapter Four

******Disclaimer: **I don't own _Doctor Who_. Sorry, but it's the truth. :(

**A/N: **Thanks so much to my valued reviewers on the last chapter. I really appreciate you guys. And I'm so sorry for the wait. I've been taking a little rest from writing, and haven't written _anything_ in several days. But I'm all rested now, and ready for some serious updating! :D

**Summary:** Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.

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Chapter Four

The next thing Martha knew was a dull throbbing in the back of her skull and a rush of hot air across her face. Her joints ached dully, and her legs and arms felt weak and useless. Tasting bile in the back of her throat, she gagged and allowed her eyelids to flutter weakly open. Just forcing them to uncover her eyes felt like a huge effort in itself.

The Doctor's current companion was greeted with the sight of a strange metal area, cold and glinting in a faint fluorescent lighting. Heavy-duty wire surrounded her, appearing to be a cage of sorts. But why would she be inside a _cage_, of all things? The last thing she remembered was that blast of fire, surrounding her and throwing her into blackness... Several strange objects, also made of metal, confused her. She couldn't even begin to decipher their meanings. It took several blinks for her sluggish brain to realize the purpose of the wire all around her. She was in some kind of cell, one like dangerous prisoners were kept inside. Did this mean that she was actually still alive? It sure as hell didn't _feel_ like she was alive.

She decided that it would be best to sit up and take in her surroundings with at least a chance of defending herself. She tried to do just that, and was surprised when her body didn't obey. Also, something sharp sliced into both of her numb wrists. This was how she discovered that her wrists were cruelly bound, more than likely with something metal, to match everything else round the place.

"I have to find the Doctor," she muttered under her breath, brow furrowing. The last time she remembered seeing him, the alien had fired an odd blast of red energy into his chest. He had collapsed, and had not been looking so well. Just recalling the sudden paleness of his face and the lack of rising and falling of his chest made her feel nauseous. It took something bad to take down the Doctor. _Very_ bad. "You'd better not be dead, or I'll kill you myself for getting us into this," she vowed quietly.

"Are...are you all right, miss?" came a soft whisper from somewhere to her side.

Martha let a small shriek escape her lips at the surprise of suddenly hearing another human voice, when she had previously believed herself to be alone, then clamped her mouth closed again. She didn't want whatever had captured her in the first place to find out that she was awake. Whatever they wanted with her, it couldn't exactly be that good.

Taking a deep breath, she responded bravely, "Who are you?"

"My name is James. James Learmann," the same voice responded quietly. "I'm a prisoner, just as you are. Those insane…creatures took me in the middle of the new queen's spectacular show, with the fire in the sky. Is this some bloke's idea of a flimflam, because I am afraid that I do _not_ find it amusing."

"A…flimflam?" Martha found it extremely hard to believe that she was in an alien ship in the year 1559, without the Doctor, and cruelly tied up with metallic bonds while conversing with some bloke she couldn't even see about the said aliens being only a con. Just that lengthy thought made her a bit dizzy.

"Yes, of course. What else would this be? Those…creatures cannot possibly be real. It just isn't possible." James was silent for about ten seconds, then went on in a stage whisper. "What's _your_ name, miss, if I may be so bold?"

"Martha. My name is Martha." She waited a few seconds after revealing her name, then gritted her teeth tightly together. Using all of the strength that she could manage to summon, she used her injured wrists to shove at the cold floor beneath her. If only she could get into a sitting position. Then she could turn to face James, and maybe find out if they were alone or not. If there were others, possibly unconscious or hurt, she could get free and help them. Then they could all escape. It was just what the Doctor would have done, had he actually been there. She ignored the small voice in the back of her mind that still wondered exactly where the Doctor currently was. She could only pray that he was at least _mostly_ all right.

Inhaling deeply through her mouth, she pushed up with her wrists again. A sharp stab of pain shot its way through both arms, and she bit down hard on her tongue to keep from crying out. The taste of blood flooded her mouth, and she choked.

"What are you doing?" James had apparently seen or heard her movements in the darkness, as his voice rose with a slight edge of panic.

Martha spat to one side, grimacing when she heard the faint splatting sound. "I'm trying to get up. So we can escape."

"Escape? Why would we want to _escape_? This isn't even _real_," James sputtered with the determination of someone who desperately wanted to believe their own fantasy. Martha had seen it many times before, such as with her dad when he was sure Mum wasn't mad about Annalise. "They can't hold us here forever, and so they'll have to let us go soon enough. Someone who saw what happened has probably already informed the law enforcement."

"I'm sorry, James. But this is real. All of this is _real_," Martha informed him seriously, staring at a glistening shape in the faint darkness before her. "And if we don't get out of here, then something very bad is going to happen to us and all the other people who were captured. I don't exactly think that those aliens invited us over for tea."

James absorbed this for a long time, maybe a minute. Martha wasn't sure, since she obviously couldn't see her watch right then. "Aliens? Do you mean someone from…abroad? Good Lord, have we been abducted by _the French_?"

Martha felt like slapping herself on the forehead, but since she for obvious reasons couldn't do this, she settled for a muffled groan of irritation. James was just a bit thick, though she wasn't about to tell him that. "Yeah. Yeah, that's right," she found herself saying, trying to get him to believe that they were in danger, even if he didn't know how serious it really was. If he wanted to think that they had been kidnapped by savage Frenchmen, then so be it. "And if we don't get away, then they're going to…carve us up with their swords."

James didn't say anything to this, and Martha could only hope that he hadn't on a whim had a stroke at the thought of Frenchmen attacking him with their swords. He certainly didn't have much of an imagination, if that was all that he could think of to scare him. This was all going to be up to her, then. She was going to have to get out of the chains holding her, free James and anyone else who might be in the room, fight off possibly murderous aliens, and find the Doctor in a strange spaceship.

Right. Shouldn't be so hard.

Martha, using her elbows, slowly but surely shoved herself up into a semi-sitting position. A small gasp of pain broke through her lips as the metal beneath her body broke the skin on her arms, tearing it into painful shreds. She could feel a small trickle of blood oozing down her arm, and stared dully at the crimson liquid splattered on the dirty metal.

"Miss Martha? Are you all right?" James cried, though he didn't sound as though he had come any closer to inspect her damaged health.

Martha twisted her neck around to look behind her, wincing slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine," she answered breathlessly, eyes scanning the darkness. She could barely make out the figure of whom she assumed was James, several feet away from her, his back against the wall. "Are you injured?" she asked worriedly.

"No, Miss Martha. But we soon will be if the French return to torture us," he prophesized gravely.

Martha chose to ignore this remark, glancing around the remainder of the fairly large room. She could make out two other bodies that appeared to be human, slumped lifelessly across the floor from her. Neither of them were moving, not even appearing to breathe. "Hey, are you two okay?" she called out softly, not wanting to give whatever had brought them there reason to come back. "Hello? Are you alright?"

"I…I think they are deceased, Miss Martha," James said in a quivering voice. "They haven't moved since I woke some time ago. I…I fear that they have lost their lives."

Martha felt as though she had taken a punch to the stomach, swallowing hard. Despite all the death she had seen in her travels with the Doctor, she would never get used to it. "I'm sure they're fine," she said with determination. "They're probably only unconscious." _No one's dying on my watch, if I can do anything about it,_ she added mentally_. Especially not because of some bloody stupid aliens who think they can just waltz in and change history to their liking. It's not gonna happen, not with the Doctor and me around._

With this encouraging thought, she tore her gaze from the motionless bodies and studied her surroundings more carefully, not trying to figure out who else was in the room with them. Instead, she looked for something sharp that she could use to slice her bindings, if was even possible. Whatever was holding her wrists together was made of metal, so it would prove to be interesting as she tried to get free.

A scuffling sound came from one side of the wire and metal cell, and Martha flinched. Something wet squelched along a solid surface, producing a sound that caused goosebumps to run up and down her arms. Even though she didn't want to think it, something was coming. Something that likely wasn't very good for any of them. "James? Is that you mucking about over there?" she asked in a low voice, just to clarify.

"N…No, Miss Martha," James managed to choke out. It was obvious from his voice that the same terror she felt after hearing the disturbing noises had struck him as well. "Is that the French coming?"

She didn't bother to answer, not wasting time on keeping his barmy theory about being abducted by the French alive. "Get into the middle with those other people. Now," she barked urgently. Grimacing, she started pulling herself backward across the floor, still twisting her head to look towards her destination: the two crumpled forms. She could only hope that whatever was coming wouldn't bother them if they were all in a group. Maybe it had been hoping to pick them off one by one. If so, then it was going to be sadly disappointed. If she was going down, she was going down fighting!

Her bare arm collided with warm flesh, and a shriek burst involuntarily from her lips. She turned around quickly, to find a bloke about her age staring back at her. He had dark hair and dirt smeared all across his face, from what she could make out. "James?" she squeaked. For all she knew, this could be a shape-shifting alien trying to pull one over on her.

"Don't be afraid, Miss Martha. It's only me." James grinned crookedly at her, then turned his gaze to the two bodies now only a short distance from the two of them. Martha followed his eyes, and felt her mouth go dry when she saw the blood pooling around them. It looked almost black in the unfriendly darkness of the cell. She highly doubted that either of them were alive, if the awkward state of their limbs, coupled with the tremendous amount of spilled blood, had anything to do with things. Leaning closer, she could see deep tears through the skin near one of the humans' throats. She hurriedly looked away from the gruesome sight, closing her eyes for several seconds.

Something scratched against metal, providing that eerie screeching sound that always causes those who hear it to cringe. Martha gasped, inching slightly closer to James. His presence was comforting to her, despite the short amount of time that they had known each other and James' strange obsession with the French. She assumed that their terrifying predicament had drawn the two of them together, since she could see James also pulling himself closer from the corner of one eye. She would have rather had the Doctor there of course, but she had no clue where he could even be. She could only hope that he was okay.

And that she would manage to survive long enough to see him again.

"Miss Martha?" James whispered quietly. The aforementioned had to strain to pick up his words. "Are the French really our captors?"

"No, James," she answered softly, not taking her gaze from the direction the sound had seemed to come from. She squinted, trying to make something out and determine if the creature, whatever it happened to be, was coming. For it certainly couldn't be a human, with all the bloody racket it was making. "I'm afraid not."

"I see." He seemed fairly calm about the idea that his thought of relative safety had been completely and utterly shattered. "Are we…are we going to die?"

Martha turned to face him, eyes gleaming with certainty. "Not if I can help it."

The wire near the front of their large enclosed area rattled ominously, like something was shaking the bars to taunt them. Martha pushed herself up off the floor with both hands, grimacing in pain. She felt loads better to stand, feeling as though she wasn't as defenseless against whatever was lurking outside the cage. She held her breath, not moving in the slightest. The only sound was a slight scuffle as James mimicked her and unsteadily shoved himself to his feet. Both were silent after this, listening in unison.

Martha drew her breath in sharply when she heard the sound of heavy breathing, and not too far off. Whatever was watching them sounded big. Scanning the darkness, she tried to summon her inner Doctor. This was no time to be scared of the dark. "Oi! What are you, scared of two humans?" she shouted bravely. "Afraid we're going to _stare_ at you to death, yeah? And you're just one big coward, then?"

"Miss Martha, what're you _doing_?" James cried, tone indicating that he considered her utterly mad. "If you provoke whatever's out there, who _knows_ what it'll do to us!"

Something growled quietly, as though contradicting his statement. The sound was like the low rumble of distant thunder, shaking Martha to her core. Yet still, she tried to stay calm and collected. Marching forward and ignoring her various aches and pains, she went right up to the bars where all the sounds had been coming from. Staring into the shadows on the other side of the cage, she plastered a bored look onto her face, while wondering just what she was going to see.

Something seemingly invisible shifted, a place that was darker than the rest of the gathered shadows. A creature just like the one that had fired upon the Doctor loomed up in front of her, lips curled back in a wordless snarl. Martha couldn't help herself; she stumbled backwards a step, shocked by the monstrous beast's sudden appearance. So close to it, she could too easily make out more details of its grisly form. Its teeth were curved and sharp as kitchen knives, almost like those of vampires. The green slime wasn't just dripping from its flea-infested fur, but from its eyeballs, oozing from the very sockets. She felt sick, but couldn't tear her horror-filled gaze from the beast. A scout, the Doctor had called it.

The scout almost seemed amused at the expression on her face. Slowly and deliberately, a forked tongue emerged from its bloated lips and ran across its yellowed teeth. Then it turned and vanished into the darkness, swallowed up by the expanse of metal stretching far out of Martha's small line of vision. She took a deep breath, sagging limply against the bars. Her fingers touched a cold chunk of metal of the other side, and she discovered that it was a lock by exploring it with one hand.

"M…Martha?" James appeared behind her, nearly causing her heart to stop with fright. "What did that thing want from us?"

She turned to look at him, and saw that the poor bloke was unhealthily pale, almost like a ghost. "I'm not sure if I'm right, James, but…" She hesitated, for some reason not wanting to tell him the actual truth. She knew all about the world of monsters, thanks to her travels with the Doctor. She's seen Plasmavores, giant rhinos, witches, Daleks, enormous crabs, people possessed, and so much more. But James had never been exposed to anything like that. This was his first contact with the world that existed outside most people's way of life. He was probably scared silly, and her pessimistic thoughts wouldn't help any.

"I'm not exactly sure," she said aloud. "Maybe it was just checking to see that we were both still here." She didn't add the horrifying thought that was pulsing madly through her brain, _Or maybe it just wanted to have a little snack._

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Please review, yeah? I would love to hear from you! :)


	5. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Doctor Who_. Sorry, but it's the truth. :(

**A/N: **Now for my usual author's note on this story: I'm SO sorry for taking this long to update with a new chapter. It's just that I never really get many reviews for this story, so I'm not entirely sure if anyone really likes it. O_O That, understandably, doesn't give me much motivation to update. D: But anyway, here's a new chappie. Also, thanks so much for all the reviews on the last chapter. :D

**Summary:** Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.

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Chapter Five

"I demand that you release me this _instant_! I am the queen of England, and I will _not_ stand for such…_nonsense_!"

"This outrage is a crime against Her Majesty, and _cannot_ be tolerated. It is _foolishness_, plain and simple, and I will be sure to have you _executed_ for your crimes!"

When the Doctor finally began to drift back into consciousness, it was to a torrent of angry voices. There were only two that he could really hear, and he immediately recognized them as those belonging to none other than Sir David and Queen Elizabeth the first. And _blimey_, she had a gob when she wanted one, from what he'd overheard so far.

The Doctor didn't open his eyes, but quickly did a mental count of various body parts that could be broken. _Arms legs neck head nose; I'm fine,_ he realized. Then he made the mistake of inhaling a deep breath through slightly parted lips, which caused a sharp and stabbing pain to shoot through his entire chest. This unfortunately meant that only one heart was beating, which obviously wasn't very good for his health. Unable to help himself, his eyes flew open, and he choked and coughed loudly. All angry protests around him came to an abrupt halt.

"Well, well, well." Each 'well' rolled off the speaker's three tongues with an oily smoothness, yet commanded attention from everyone surrounding him. "If it isn't…the _Doctor_."

The Doctor, tearing his blurry gaze from the metal ceiling above his head, directed an appraising gaze to the rough chains holding his ankles to the ground while at the same time dangling him from the ceiling by his wrists. Quite painful, though not nearly as much as the single-beating-heart problem that he was experiencing. How humans managed to survive having only one heart, he would never know.

Brown eyes flickering past the queen and Sir David, who were bound similarly to him and staring right back at him, the Doctor weakly focused his attention on the speaker. Standing but a few feet away, he was vaguely humanoid. There were only minor differences, such as his leathery green skin, red and pupil-less eyes, and three tongues. Also, his clothes appeared to be made out of the skin of a Hayzater creature.

Swallowing hard and trying his best to project an aura of strength and fearlessness, the Doctor said, "So who are you, then? The big leader, I'd wager, as you're pacing round here like you own the place. And are those things in your ears…rubies from Selcton Four? _Blimey_, those are hard to get a hold of. _Illegal_, more like. I'd almost think that you were a…pirate or something." He finally stopped talking, biting down hard on his lower lip to keep from crying out as the pain in the left side of his chest increased. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stay conscious with his only working heart trying so hard to keep him going.

The creature chuckled darkly, one tongue flicking out of his mouth and wrapping daintily around the shining loop in his right earlobe. And yet he still had no trouble talking with the other two tongues as it caressed the jewel. "So it _is_ true what they say about you."

"Only good things, I hope."

"They say that you are a jester to cover up the power than burns within you. They say that you are like fire and ice. They say…that you are the Destroyer of Worlds."

"Do they, now?" Trying not to show how much strength the simple words cost him, the Time Lord gave the queen and Sir David each what he hoped to be a reassuring glance. Then he directed back to the creature, "And since you know who _I_ am, it's only polite to return the favor."

"I am Oohberăn, leader of…the Voyagers." He paused, as though expecting a burst of fearful recognition. He seemed disappointed when he didn't get one. "Surely you've heard of us, Doctor."

"Surely," was the Doctor's terse reply. He wasn't really in the mood for much playful banter, given his current heart condition.

"You Time Lords were the bane of we Voyagers' very existences, disapproving of our…walks through time. That's what we developed our special weapons for, one of which I'm told you have already…tested." Oohberăn sucked the third tongue back into his mouth like a spaghetti noodle, lips curving smugly as he studied the Doctor with narrowed eyes. "Feeling the pain, are you, _Doctor_?"

The Doctor didn't respond to this, instead saying through gritted teeth, "What's your plan, Oohberăn? If I don't like it, then it's going to stop."

Oohberăn skillfully lifted an eyeridge, one which was studded with diamonds from what the Doctor guessed to be the Cullneeride galaxy. "Hmmm. So _violent_. The Time Lords used to be such a peace-loving race." He smiled dangerously, showing off pointed teeth, as a sudden thought struck him. "But I suppose that I won't have to worry about them anymore. You're the last, Doctor. The last Time Lord."

"Really. I never would have figured that out without you; cheers." The Doctor hid a wince, shadows slowly starting to take over his vision from the edges. His mind racing, he tried to organize everything he knew before the inevitable trip back into darkness. "So you're Voyagers, yes? Pirates? That means you _steal_ things, hence the ruby earring from Selcton Four and clothes made from Hayzater creature skin."

"So…_intelligent_," Oohberăn declared mockingly, lightly clapping his hands together. "Stealing things, as you put it, is the entire reason for my existence, Doctor."

"And you've hired a pack of Medrano scouts from the Leeannson Void to become one with the Voyager race." This was more of a statement than a question, as he'd both seen and tasted the telltale slime residue traces of the creatures earlier in the alleyway, with Martha. And Medranos were well-known for working together with Voyagers, as the pirates had no trouble conjuring up credits to pay them with. "They usually don't come very cheap."

Oohberăn smiled like a predator that was hungrily staring down its prey, trio of tongues flickering wildly. "Oh, they didn't. But believe me…we can afford it, Doctor."

"I have had more than enough of this…tomfoolery," Queen Elizabeth bellowed suddenly, interrupting the conversation. She, along with Sir David, had remained startlingly silent throughout the whole discussion, but had apparently experienced her fill of nonsense. "I demand to be returned to the street immediately, along with my protector. And then I must _insist_ that you hand yourself over to the law enforcement, to receive proper punishment for your crimes against the Crown."

"And why must I do that?" Oohberăn seemed amused with the situation, clasping his hands behind his back. He studied his three chained prisoners with gleaming eyes, lids closing partially over the crimson orbs. "You are mere humans, of no real importance."

"They must be of at least some importance if you've been taking them off the streets. The Medranos can only eat so much human flesh," the Doctor choked out, eyes watering.

The queen straightened regally, somehow managing to look noble even with both arms hanging above her head and her ankles bound savagely together. "You are mad," she stated with calm determination. "Utterly mad. You speak on as though you are not as human as Sir David and I, as though you are…_nonhuman_." She uttered the final word with the distaste that someone might speak of mucus or mold.

Oohberăn chuckled. "Humans are wonderful for amusement purposes, at least. Among…other things."

"Untie me, so that I may battle you for the queen's life. Let her go, or I shall order you to be beheaded, vile creature," Sir David pronounced loudly, rich tones ringing with dramatics. The Doctor vaguely wondered if he was somehow related to Shakespeare. They actually sort of looked alike.

Oohberăn frowned darkly, as unexpectedly as a severe thunderstorm on a sunny day. He strode forward, skin robes whispering against the cold metal floor. Without hesitation, he paused before Sir David and raised his clawed hand. Then he cuffed the human across the face, claws scraping into the flesh. The man cried out, unable to even touch his cheek as the blood flowed freely. He slumped weakly, chains the only thing holding him upright.

The queen gasped at the sight of her protector, visibly paling, but didn't say a word.

The Doctor straightened, ignoring the cautionary pang in his chest. "Leave him alone," he enunciated with a deadly calm in his voice.

Oohberăn snarled, tongues resembling Medusa's hair as they violently flipped over and over. "You are in no place to command me, Time Lord. You are my prisoner, and you have not long to live, at this rate." He strode to stand before the Doctor, who struggled to remain in a strong stance. "There is _nothing_ you can do to end our plans."

The Voyager struck, lethal claws flashing in the dim lighting, and the Doctor knew no more.

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Martha, carefully touching the lock she'd discovered in the cell door, kept one hand placed against it so she wouldn't lose it in the darkness. Then she reached with the other to her red headband and roughly jerked out one of the pins that was securing it in place. Gritting her teeth, she squinted down at her target and jammed the pin into the lock. "I can't say I've ever really done this before, but it's the only thing I can think of," she admitted out loud.

"What…what do you mean?" James inquired, with more boldness than he usually displayed. He cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed when his voice shook slightly. "Are you planning something to dispose of that…creature?"

Martha's brow knitted as she continued randomly moving the pin about in the rusted lock. _Surely_ this was going to work. It always did in the films, and all fiction originally came from some fact, yeah? "No, I'm not," she said without looking at him. "I'm going to try to find the Doctor. He can get us out of this. I believe in him."

"Who…who do you speak of, Miss Martha? Is he some sort of physician?" James asked curiously.

"Yeah, you might say that. He's a Doctor of just about _everything_." Martha tried to keep from losing her temper as she continued poking at the lock with her pin. "He and I, we're mates. We travel together. And he'll know how we can get out of this." She chose to give James the simple explanation, not wanting to go into the whole time and space thing with him. There wasn't even science fiction in this time period, and he was having enough trouble accepting the whole scout thing, even though he'd seen one with his own eyes.

"Would he really know how to get away from these…abominations?"

"Yes," she answered him firmly.

James was silent for several seconds. The only sound was that of the pin scratching at the lock. "Do you suppose he is…never mind."

Martha, hearing something in his voice, turned to face him. She folded her arms across her chest, careful not to let the pin slip from her grasp and be lost. "What do you mean, exactly?" she demanded harshly, mindful not to let her voice get too loud. She didn't want that bloody alien coming back to check on them.

"It's just that," James awkwardly scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish, "what if this physician of yours isn't…well? What if he is deceased, like the others?" He gestured towards the pair of bodies that shared the cell with them. "We could be the only two left _alive_." His eyes widened, giving him a ghoulish appearance.

"Shut up," Martha snapped, then instantly felt guilty when she saw the look on James' face. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just worried about my friend," she admitted quietly.

"It's all right," James muttered back, lowering his gaze towards the floor. "I understand, Miss Martha." He looked back up, dark eyes focusing on the pin still clutched in the fingers of one of the Doctor's current companions' hands. Reaching out, he took it from her and cleverly inserted it into the lock.

"James, what're you doing?" Martha wanted to know.

With a loud clicking noise, the door shifted open into the dark corridor. James offered her the pin, smiling modestly. "I'm opening the door, that's what."

Martha gaped at the gateway to their freedom, haphazardly shoving the pin back into her hair. "You didn't tell me that you could do that," she told him accusingly.

"You never asked me if I could, Miss Martha," James replied.

"Oh, just _shift_," Martha ordered, rolling her eyes. She moved around him and into the corridor, swallowing hard. Darkness swallowed her immediately, making sight nearly impossible. The only light provided came from flimsy lanterns that dangled from the ceiling every few feet, and everything was eerily silent. Shadows seemed to almost dance in the faint light, making Martha feel jumpish. There was something about this place…something that just didn't sit right with her. And it wasn't just because she had come to from being unconscious in a heavy set of chains, either.

"What was that sound?" James squeaked out, voice cracking on the words.

"I didn't hear anything," Martha whispered faintly, pulse hammering in her ears. She moved closer to James, clutching at his arm with both hands.

"It sounded like…a voice," he stammered. "Could it have possibly been a…ghost?"

"I doubt that," Martha assured him boldly. "Ghosts aren't real." _At least…I don't _think_ they are, _she added mentally.

"But that creature we encountered was perfectly normal, then?" James teased her shakily.

"Now you're getting it," she said, grinning, then glanced round at her surroundings. "Okay. Which way do you think we should start heading? Where do you think they might be keeping the Doctor?"

"I haven't a clue," James confessed honestly.

"Right. So maybe we should–"

She was interrupted by a low moan, echoing out to her from not too far away. Starting, she turned in the direction of the disturbing noise with owlishly wide eyes. "What the hell was that?"

"I…I…do not know." James swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing up and down with the motion.

"It might be someone else who was captured," she murmured. "Someone who's injured."

"And yet it might me another creature," James countered sensibly.

Unfortunately, this also made sense to Martha. But she knew what the Doctor would do, and he certainly wouldn't abandon anyone who needed help. Steeling herself, she crept towards the sound as it came again, from what appeared to be another metal cell. She took a deep breath, then clutched at the ice-cold bars and peered guardedly into the darkness. What she saw there made her jaw drop, and her breath caught in her chest.

"Oh my _God_."

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Okay, how many of you have seen **_The Waters of Mars_? *squeals girlishly* Let me just say, here and now and without spoiling anything for you, that it was AWESOME! I've already watched it three times! *briskly clears throat* Anyyyyway…please review, okay? :D**


	6. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Doctor Who_. Sorry, but it's the truth. :(

**A/N: **I would have updated with this new chapter a couple of days ago, but I didn't exactly get the chance. My dad was doing something up in the attic, and sort of fell through the roof. I was right under it, so tons of insulation, boards, and gross stuff fell right on my head. *grimaces in disgust* Luckily, my dad didn't fall all the way through, but his leg was dangling out of the ceiling, which was a strange sight to see. O.O Anyway, here's the new chapter. Enjoy, and don't forget to review! :D

**Summary:** Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.

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Chapter Six

"What is it, Miss Martha?" James whispered fearfully, stepping slowly forward to join her.

Martha tried to answer him, but found that her throat felt much too constricted to even _try_ to do so. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she blinked them hastily away, raising one hand to assist in the process.

Inside the cage, several humans looked wordlessly towards her for help, mouths open in silent screams. None of them seemed to realize that they weren't completely…there. And in all actuality, the beings inside the cage almost couldn't even be called human. It looked like they'd been thrown into giant blenders, the shining metal blades attacking their fragile bodies with a vengeance. Flesh hung limply from bones, and broken shards that resembled teeth littered the floor. Eyes, melted and dripping like old candles, stared pleadingly, begging for help.

Martha spun away and promptly threw up, gagging and emptying what little had actually remained in her stomach. She heard James coughing and choking as he tried to keep from doing the same, but she didn't pay much attention to him. She was busy trying not to pass out, lungs squeezing painfully inside her chest as the horrible images of the ruined bodies kept playing over and over inside her mind. It was like something from her worst nightmare; worse than that, since she _never_ would have been able to conjure something like that up in a million years.

And the _suffering_ that those poor people had to be enduring. It had to be unimaginably awful. And there was nothing she could even do about it.

"M...Martha?" James gingerly touched her shoulder, and the Doctor's current companion slowly straightened, wiping at her mouth with one sleeve. "Are you all right?" He wore a queasy look on his dirty face, and swallowed hard as she nodded once. "What _are_ those things? They…they simply _cannot_ be people," he choked out.

"They are, James. They are." Martha kept her eyes averted from the cell, swallowing the pang of nearly overwhelming guilt that coursed through her. There was nothing she could do to help those people, no matter how much she wanted to. And throwing up again certainly wouldn't do her any good, not when she needed to keep up her strength to find the Doctor.

James shook his head, making his disbelief obvious. "But how–"

That was when they heard it, a heavy thump coming from somewhere in the darkness. Both froze in unison, ears straining for another ominous sound. And they certainly got one, in the form of three more slow thudding noises. It was enough to make the hairs raise straight up on Martha's arms, and she shivered.

"What _is_ that?" James whispered fearfully.

"I think they're…footsteps," Martha realized suddenly, eyes widening. "Quickly, we've got to hide!" She roughly shoved James in the back with both hands, sending him staggering wildly forward, limbs flailing. Following a bit more gracefully, she ducked behind a stack of metal crates, just to the left of the cell of barely human remains. James crouched beside her, breathing heavily. "Shhh," she hissed, placing one finger against her lips. He did as she commanded, all breathing abruptly ceasing as he tried to stay as silent as humanly possible.

Several more muffled thumps sounded, then a shadowy figure loomed up into Martha's vision. She automatically flinched back against James as the scout stared into the cell where she had been previously looking not too long ago. Its eyes glimmered eerily in the blackness, slime that dripped from them resembling ghostly green tears of sadness. And yet the cruel twist in its bloated lips said differently of its current mood.

James lightly pressed his lips to Martha's ear, making her jump in surprise. "What is it doing?" he wanted to know, his voice no louder than a breath of air.

"I don't know," she murmured back apprehensively. _Though I'm not really sure I _want_ to know at this point,_ she added mentally.

The scout, as though contradicting her, reached for the cell door with one monstrously clawed hand. A harsh rattling sound exploded from its hairy chest, and though it took Martha several seconds, she realized that it was _laughing_. Unbelievably enough, it seemed to find the brutally mutilated humans _funny_.

"Why, you bloody–" Martha began, making a move as though to rush the beast and give it a piece of her mind.

But before she could, James suddenly grabbed her arm in a grip like steel itself. "_Don't_, Martha," he warned her in a shrill voice. "They'll _kill_ you."

Seeing the logic in his statement, she sank silently back to the ground and stared with baited breath at the scout.

More heavy footsteps came, much louder than those of the first creature. The latter quickly shoved the cell closed once more, turning stiffly to face those who were coming. Its slimy eyes narrowed as three more of its kind came around a corner, followed by another creature that made Martha's eyes widen. It looked like some kind of human-lizard hybrid, with leathery emerald skin. Its eyes were completely red, lacking any sort of pupil, and three tongues flickered from its lips as it approached. "Legen," the strange newcomer hissed, a single tongue testing the air. "Do not attempt to finish the prisoners yet." He stared with hard eyes at the scout, expression severe.

"Hagsgonnun," the first scout ground out, the alien word rumbling from deep inside its hairy chest. "It was made clear that we could include the human remains as one tegenth of our pay for this mission. Oohberăn himself told us that."

The scouts that had arrived with 'Hagsgonnun' nodded at this, shifting on their clawed feet and appearing impatient. They obviously agreed with the so-called Legen's words.

James swallowed hard, wrapping his cold fingers around Martha's. She tore her eyes from the scene for a moment, looking over at his pale face, and gave his hand what she hoped to be a reassuring squeeze. Then she turned her attention back to the disturbing confrontation, hoping that it wouldn't end in some sort of bloodshed.

"Do not take my words and twist them, scout," Hagsgonnun warned dangerously, straightening to an unbelievable height. Martha guessed him to be taller than even the Doctor. And just the thought of the missing Time Lord sent a pang of worry through her. "You will have this payment. But Oohberăn demands a final human, for us all to finish the preparations with. Then our magnificent journey will begin."

"We will eat all of our feast, to ensure that our bodies are too ready for the time switch," one of the scouts agreed in the same growling voice that the first beast had spoken with.

Hagsgonnun impatiently waved a clawed hand. "It is of no importance. You are not banned as we are, by those dreadful beings who so pompously called themselves _Time Lords_."

Martha stiffened at the words, taking her hand from James'.

"And what of the Time Lord you captured from the planet below?" a scout inquired, showing its yellowed fangs in a purely evil smile.

"That is of no concern to you," Hagsgonnun snapped. "What will be done with him is Oohberăn's concern, for he is our high leader." He turned smartly to face one of the scouts, lip curling elegantly with disgust. "Lumon. Select a human and bring it to me. We must take it to Oohberăn immediately."

The scout slouched over to the cell, large claws scraping heavily against the metal floor. Bloated lips twisting into what some might consider a smile of sorts, it jerked the cage door open without effort, reaching into the darkness. Its hairy paw closed on the remains of one of the poor souls, lugging it from the depths. Its tongue flitted over its lips as it studied the helpless creature in its grasp.

Martha's stomach heaved, and she fiercely clamped her lips shut to keep from throwing up again.

Hagsgonnun appeared to have no sympathy for the human, turning briskly and gesturing with one hand. "Come, Lumon. We shall take the human to Oohberăn, then you may return and join the others."

Lumon used no words to reply, growling gutturally with pleasure. He followed Hagsgonnun as the alien started down the corridor once more, strange robes whispering as he moved, limbs swaying liquidly.

"Now, brothers. We shall begin," the scout called Legen rasped, turning towards the tantalizingly open cell door. It then stepped inside, vanishing into the void of darkness. The others followed, and there was a moment of tense silence. Then came the sound of flesh being ripped apart, and the strangled screams of the dying humans.

Martha buried her head in James shoulder as he squeezed his own eyes tightly closed. Both remained silent, though through an extreme amount of willpower.

* * *

The Doctor was jolted awake as a torrent of icy water splashed against his face. His eyes flew open, and he coughed and choked for several seconds. Throat burning and eyes watering, he stared accusingly at Oohberăn and the four other Voyagers gathered before him. "And I always thought that _I_ was a bit rude. And yet I never tossed a bucket of water onto anyone, either," he coughed out. Unfortunately, it felt like his second heart still wasn't beating, sitting like a fleshy lump inside his chest. Also, he could feel that the skin of his face at been torn by Oohberăn's attack. He hoped the wounds wouldn't scar, as this would completely ruin his boyish features.

"One must stoop to low means at times such as this, when so close to their goals," Oohberăn said importantly, trio of tongues flickering.

"Right. Sure. So, are you going to introduce me to your friends?" As he spoke, he casually looked towards where Queen Elizabeth and Sir David were chained. He found them both unconscious, making him wonder just how long _he_ had actually been out.

"They are Sĕsmenan, Lōneena, Hagsgonnun, and Dadeena," the Voyager answered. "We are those who command this vessel."

"Nice to meet you. I'm the Doctor, hello."

"You won't think it's so nice for very long," Lōneena cackled. He clearly wasn't really the brains behind the operation.

The Doctor cleared his throat, trying to seem nonchalant, despite the erratic beating of his single heart. He felt like he'd just run a marathon across Mars, which wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling. "So let's discuss, shall we? What're your plans?" he asked cheerfully.

"All you really need to know is that we are going back in time," Oohberăn said slyly, lips curling into a smug smirk.

"Brilliant! Just be sure to avoid the small storm in the time stream, yeah? I got a few bumps on the way here earlier, so there must see some mad drivers mucking about out there…" The Doctor pretended to consider this. "Oh, wait. Don't tell me. Really, _don't_ tell me. _You_ were the ones moving through the time stream!"

"Oh yes, Doctor. You are quite intelligent, as they say," Dadeena purred in a silky voice.

"You know, I'd really like to know who these 'they' people are," the Doctor stated indignantly. "From what you people have been saying, they've been on about me _constantly_. I also find that quite rude."

Oohberăn ignored this. "Scout, bring forth the prisoner," he barked, directing the words towards a darkened doorway to his left.

The Doctor stared with narrowed eyes as a Medrano scout lumbered heavily into the room, dragging what appeared to be a fleshy carcass that had once been a human being. Its body was torn to shreds, as though it had been attacked with glistening blades. Skin dangled lifelessly from broken bones, he was alarmed to see that the human's eyes were melted like ancient taffy. He swallowed hard, momentarily forgetting the pain he was currently experiencing. "What's this, then? Torture innocent humans who never did anything to you day? If so, then I must have forgotten to mark it on my calendar." Despite his cheeky words, the Doctor's voice was hard.

"Hmmm. You were right about him, Oohberăn," Sĕsmenan observed, studying his claws with some interest. "I almost would have feared that he would stop our glorious plans, if he were not here, crippled and weak."

The Doctor took a deep breath, only serving to cause a sharp pang of pain in his only working heart. "Oi! Who're you calling weak and crippled?" he demanded loudly.

"Leave us, scout," Oohberăn ordered in a commanding voice, gesturing sharply towards the Medrano beast. It grinned wolfishly, yellowed teeth glittering in the murky light, then turned and walked heavily out of the room once more. It left what remained of the poor human in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Shall we begin?" Hagsgonnun wanted to know, rotating his shoulders in preparation of something that the Doctor couldn't quite figure out.

"Indeed." Oohberăn held out both taloned hands, eyelids sliding down to cover his eerily-crimson orbs. A low rumbling noise that could be compared to humming vibrated from deep within his chest, and the other Voyagers quickly mimicked him. Then the five of them reached out towards the human, causing what was left of its eyes to widen in unsuppressed fear and horror.

And then, right before the Doctor's eyes, a pale blue light drained from the human, separating into five separate strands and sucking into the Voyagers. His brow knitted as he tugged uselessly at the chains continuing to secure him, preventing him from helping the poor human. He could only watch as the Voyagers' leathery flesh flickered, for a tick highly resembling the skin of a human being.

Then the few scraps of the human's body vanished, disintegrating into a faint dust. The Voyagers all jerked in unison, then stepped apart once more. As they opened their eyes, the bound Time Lord noted that small black pupils were now centered inside the redness. "Assimilation," he realized darkly, wincing minutely as his single heart continued beating erratically. "You just assimilated that _human being_. It's a crime directly against Act Six of the La'mow Document of the Shadow Proclamation. It's punishable by imprisonment inside a black hole," he added gravely.

Oohberăn merely laughed. "Do not quote the laws of the Shadow Proclamation to us, Doctor. We know them by heart, and we stomp across them whenever we get the opportunity."

The Doctor frowned, ignoring the dark amusement on Oohberăn's reptilian face. "Let me guess. Your species, whatever it was before you dubbed yourselves 'Voyagers', is composed of incorporation internal shape-changers, much like Plasmavores and Leenuun creatures. And you literally suck the _life_ out of your prey, like squeezing the juice out of an orange."

"Oh, very _good_, Doctor," Dadeena leered. "But have you yet figured out why we must assimilate these precious humans of yours?"

"Not a clue. Maybe some insane fetish of yours?"

"Not even _close_," Oohberăn laughed. He turned round and nodded towards Hagsgonnun. "Activate the time warp device."

"As you command, Oohberăn," the Voyager said respectively, stepping across the room to do as the former requested.

"Are you going to let me in on the gag?" the Doctor inquired quietly, looking again towards his fellow prisoners. Sir David showed signs of stirring, but the queen was still out cold.

"Of course. Why plan such an elaborate heist without letting _others_ in on the plan?" Lōneena cackled.

"_Silence_!" Oohberăn snapped, his hissing voice like crashing thunder. When all was absolutely still, he faced the Doctor once more. "Your race once possessed a gem like no other, one which when plugged into the correct slot of a time warp device, could bend reality itself. And yet once we tried to take it from them, they sent the gem back into a certain point in time, locking that time period against our very DNA."

"Clever of them," was all that the Doctor had to say.

"Indeed. But not clever enough." A pair of Oohberăn's tongues pushed past his lips, as though tasting the air, then were sucked back into his mouth. "We have temporarily changed our DNA coding, after various absorbing sessions of the humans we took from the streets. We can now travel to the correct time period and take the Warp Diamond for our own. With it, we can reshape the universe in our own images, and rule over it with an iron fist."

The Doctor's eyes widened, a few choice words moving through his mind. How was he supposed to stop them in his current state? And where the hell was Martha? He could really use her help at the moment…

**

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Please review! :) And all of you who haven't already, please vote on the poll at the top of my profile. I need to know which companions are your favorites, for a coming fic of mine… *smiles mysteriously* Thanks in advance! :D


	7. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Doctor Who_. Sorry, but it's the truth. :(

**A/N: **Not much to say, except thanks to those who continue to review regularly! :D

**Summary:** Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.

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Chapter Seven

After the scouts had finally gone, leaving only a torturous silence behind them after their feast, Martha and James finally emerged from their hiding place. Both made sure not to look in the direction of the cell where the human remains had once been; Martha highly doubted that any of the poor souls still remained, after all the horrible sounds she had heard. At least they had finally been put out of their misery.

James pulled a face, swallowing hard. "What do we do now, Miss Martha?" he whispered cautiously. It was apparent that he was afraid the terrible creatures would return. Martha thought he was being quite brave, though. He'd gone from being a shaking nobody when she'd first met him to someone she felt like she could rely on. And he _had_ stopped her from stupidly confronting the scouts head-on, which would have been suicidal. He wasn't quite as brave as the Doctor, but he was certainly close enough in her eyes.

"Well, we still need to find the Doctor," she said sensibly, frowning as she tried to think things over. "And if we follow that lizard bloke, we might find him, yeah? He seemed to know what was going on, like he was the guy in charge. And when the scouts mentioned the Doctor, he seemed to know what they were on about."

James nodded. "How can you think so clearly in this kind of situation, Miss Martha?" he asked, wide-eyed. "I feel as though I might collapse." He blushed. "Um…not that I _will_, of course."

"Don't worry, James," the Doctor's current companion said kindly. "It's great to be honest about how you feel. And you're being awfully brave." She smiled at him, then started around the corner and down the long corridor she had seen the scouts and lizard bloke come from earlier. It, like the cell area, seemed to be made completely of metal; it stretched on out of sight, twisting and turning around corner after corner.

"And this is pretty new to me, too," she went on. "I used to be a normal enough person, trying to get through medical training. And then these rhino aliens took the hospital and put it on the moon. It was bloody amazing, and the Doctor saved us all." Martha smiled at the memory. "Sorry, I'm babbling, aren't I? A bit of the Doctor rubbing off on me."

"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean, Miss Martha," James said seriously, looking bemused.

Martha laughed. "Sorry about that." She was silent for a few moments as they crept along the corridor. Their footsteps rang out hollowly against the metal floor, seeming decidedly ominous. "James?" she asked quietly, brow furrowing as she tried to find the right words. "Why do you keep calling me _Miss_ Martha? Why not just Martha? We're friends now, yeah? We've so far escaped death together, which is always a plus."

James looked awkward, stuffing both hands into his pockets. "I'm…well…I'm just a peasant, Miss Martha. A nobody. My father is a blacksmith, and my mum a maid. And you're…well, your class is a ways above mine, miss." He shrugged his shoulders listlessly. "I'm basically no good to anyone."

Martha gasped angrily, unable to stop herself. "Whoever thinks that is a bloody _idiot_!" she hissed, narrowing her eyes into accusing slits.

James looked like he wanted to laugh, but didn't. "It's just the way things are, Miss Martha. You should know that." He looked at her strangely, brow furrowing slightly.

"I'm not really from round here," she said awkwardly, not sure that James would take to the thought of time travel very well. "I'm from…Freedonia. It's, er, really different there." She pressed her lips into a tight line, widening her eyes minutely, as she thought about just _how_ different.

He looked puzzled. "Freedonia? Is that in Scotland?"

"Yes. Around those parts, actually," Martha lied quickly, hoping that she sounded at least a _little_ convincing.

"Oh." James nodded, as though her answer explained everything. "I wish that I could travel to this Freedonia. It sounds like a most amazing place. You seem so...independent and carefree," he said wistfully.

A smile came to Martha's lips, and she spontaneously grabbed her companion's hand, ignoring the look of intense surprise that he gave her. "It's more amazing that you'd ever guess, James. And I'm sure the Doctor wouldn't mind having one more along for the ride, yeah? You can come with us to…Freedonia."

James got over his embarrassment at her grabbing his hand, and gave a genuine smile of pleasure. "There is nothing I would like more, Martha," he murmured, both happily and sincerely.

Martha took her hand from his and cleared her throat, idly brushing her hand against her skirt. She couldn't _believe_ that she had been so bold, as to invite someone to come along with her in the TARDIS. The Doctor _probably_ wouldn't mind, but she couldn't really be sure. She cleared her throat, deciding to save such thoughts for later, after they were out of immediate danger. "Okay. Right, then. Blimey, how much farther do you think this tunnel goes on, James?" she asked, as they passed a (of _course_) metal door with a strange knob on it.

"Forever," James said with certainty, eyes owlishly round. "What if we are trapped in the bowels of hell itself? It would definitely explain those nightmarish creatures we saw earlier."

"I _really_ doubt that this is hell, James," Martha told him, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm sure there are even worse creatures than the scouts and that lizard bloke out there in the univers–"

Faint footsteps rang out from the other end of the corridor, sounding much too close for either Martha's or James's comfort. The latter's eyes became even wider, and he grabbed Martha by the hand. "Quickly, in here!" he hissed, pulling her back to the door they had only just passed. He pushed at it with his free hand, and it was thankfully unlocked. Both of them darted inside, and Martha clicked the door quietly closed behind them.

Heaving a deep sigh of relief, she turned to look at James. Once again, he strangely reminded her of the Doctor. When faced with danger, his face came alive with some sort of strange energy, even if he _did_ seem afraid of absolutely everything. And for the first time, she noticed he was rather handsome, too. His brown hair was quite mundane, but his green orbs shone from his dirty face with an almost unnatural intensity. Martha could definitely feel a blush coming on, so she quickly looked away.

Pressing her ear to the door, she listened intently to the footsteps ringing on past, and the sound of something rasping heavily. The disturbing sounds gradually faded away, and she blew out a breath of relief. "I hope they don't find we're gone," she murmured softly. "I haven't the faintest idea whether they were keeping us for something or we just happened to be lucky enough to be alive."

"But what use could the two of us possibly have to any of _them_?" James wondered, biting down hard on his lower lip.

"God only knows," Martha admitted, looking over her shoulder at him before warily opening the door once more and stepping over the threshold. Luckily for her, the winding corridor was once again blessedly empty of any creatures, or things probably wouldn't have worked out very well for either of them.

"What should we do now, Miss Martha?" James whispered, his voice still all-too loud in the eerie silence.

"Like I said, we've got to find the Doctor." Martha smiled grimly, then turned to continue on. "And this way seems as good as any, so let's keep going, yeah?"

"Pardon my rudeness, Miss Martha, but…you've never said," James spoke up, stuffing both hands into the pockets of his ragged pants as he began following her. "Who is this man, this…Doctor? You speak about him as though he can solve all our problems without any effort of his own."

Martha smiled wistfully. "Oh, he can."

"But how? Why is he so special?" James insisted.

She shook her head. "It's sort of hard to explain, but…he's the last of his kind, his species. And he's taken it upon himself to be the protector of the universe."

"Then you mean…he's not _human_?" James asked, eyes wide.

"Not in the least."

Suddenly, the ship rocked wildly around them. The floor tilted sharply to the left, and Martha gasped loudly and flailed her arms frantically as she tried to grasp onto something, _anything_. James slid past her, expression frozen into one of panic, then slammed loudly into the wall with a solid-sounding thud. She followed his bad example, crying out in pain as her shoulder collided with the wall.

"What's happening?" James croaked, sounding out of breath.

Martha gasped again as the ship jolted, then straightened up as best she could. She stumbled, trying to regain what little balance she could, then leaned heavily against the wall where she had earlier landed. A strong force was pressing at the mental walls of her mind, making her head feel like it had the potential to explode. "What the _hell_?" This was horribly reminiscent of the time when the Judoon fleet of mercenaries had transported the Royal Hope Hospital to the moon, except for the lack of rain.

James looked alarmed at her harsh language. "Is the world _ending_, Miss Martha?" he lamented, eyes still almost comically round.

Martha opened her mouth to deny this, then was interrupted as the ship was spun madly round again. Everything spun out of control, and she dimly felt her body tossing and turning through the air. Her head crashed against something hard, the jolt of the strong impact causing her head to fling roughly backwards on her neck. James shouted her name urgently, actually leaving off the title of 'miss', then everything went dark.

* * *

The Doctor's gaze shifted over to Hagsgonnun, as the Voyager finished typing something into the ship's main computer system. "Time warp activated, Oohberăn," he breathed harshly, trio of tongues flickering madly. He sneered over at the Doctor, looking much too pleased with the current turn of events.

"Good. Commence the time shift in ninety-eight nanebeams," Oohberăn commanded in his rasping voice, showing his pointed teeth in a twisted equivalent of a smile.

"I obey your command."

"There's _one_ thing I don't understand," the Doctor interrupted suddenly, trying to ignore the pain in his chest. He was pleased to notice that it was starting to lessen a little as his second heart began beating erratically. That was always a good thing, better than having _one_ heart working. "Well, I _say_ one thing…why are you lot do determined to get this so-called Warp Diamond? It's powerful, yeah, and you're pirates, but is it _really_ worth it? Possible mix-up of reality, time, and space, just to get your hands on a bit of _bling_?"

Oohberăn momentarily focused his attention towards the Time Lord. "Oh, _yes_. We will be all-powerful, and every ounce of the riches in this universe will belong to _us_," he hissed.

"But the reshaping everything into your image thing, yadda, yadda, yadda? Just a bit much, in my opinion. If everyone's the exact same as you lot, what would be the fun of existence? You'd all be trying to steal from each other, and there would be no _individuality_. Nothing new and interesting to steal. Life would get a little _boring_, yeah?"

Oohberăn slowly shook his reptilian head, seeming almost amused. "All that banter, and yet not a word wasted," he said. "I like that about you, Time Lord. But it is a _pity_ that you will soon die out, like the rest of the lesser life forms. The last of the Time Lords, exterminated." His tongues flickered cheerfully at the very thought.

"Oi! Who're you calling a lesser life form?" the Doctor demanded with mock indignation.

"What in the name of all that is good is going _on_?" came the irritated voice of the apparently-woken queen, a tone of fear barely hidden behind her annoyance. She twisted about in the chains that brutally pinned her arms above her head as the Doctor turned to look at her, royal features settled into a scowl. Beside her, Sir David had stirred, heedless of the dried blood coating his cheek. "What exactly are you demons from hell itself _planning_?"

The Doctor thought to himself that she was actually acting rather brave.

"Nothing that you would understand, _woman_," Oohberăn proclaimed shortly, apparently having lost patience with her. "I was once _grateful_ that the scouts had the foresight to assume you were an important member of your species, and that they brought you to me. But no more. You can never keep your annoying _maw_ closed!"

Queen Elizabeth gasped with unladylike rage. "I will have you _beheaded_ for your impudence!" she shouted angrily.

Oohberăn made a sound that, if he were human, would have nearly resembled a snort. "I must disagree. There is nothing that you can do to stop us. Not even _you_ have power over the mighty Voyager race, _Doctor_."

Queen Elizabeth's attention was now directed towards the Time Lord, ice snapping in her eyes. "And _you_! Sir David commanded that you and your inappropriately-dressed lady friend provide me safe sanctuary! Instead, here we are, among demons who most obviously plan the end of our people! And all you do is stare _incompetently_!"

The Doctor scowled indignantly at her. "Oi, what's this, then? Make rude comments about the poor, chained up Doctor night?" he demanded with annoyance. "And I _don't_ stare _incompetently_, I look about with much interest and minor distaste of being tied up." He briefly considered mentioning his little heart condition, but didn't really think that any of his current company would care about this little fact; if anything, Oohberăn would just laugh delightedly.

"Much the same on _your_ face, Doctor," Lōneena cackled darkly, making an obvious stab at the Doctor's boyish features, though the Time Lord didn't answer.

"She is correct, _Doctor_," Sir David issued groggily, squinting blearily in the Doctor's general direction. "When we escape from this predicament, you will be issued the execution sword."

"Oooh, _execution sword_? That sounds dramatic. Fancy way of saying you'll kill me dead, yeah?"

"That," Sir David replied in a low and threatening voice, "is correct."

"Enough mindless _talk_," Sĕsmenan ground out, glancing warily towards Oohberăn to make sure that he wouldn't be reprimanded for speaking out of turn.

"I must agree," Oohberăn said in a tone that could almost be considered lazy. "Hagsgonnun, what is the status of the time shift sequence?"

"Time warp sequence now initiating," the latter responded, pressing a large button with one clawed finger. On cue, the entire ship began rattling and shaking frantically, almost like the TARDIS in flight. Just a _bit_ wilder than that, though. A pillar of steam exploded from the elaborate control panel, and several of the Voyagers stumbled, momentarily breaking their 'superior' status. The queen and Sir David lost their balance, feet sliding out from under them and causing them to hang merely from the chains suspending their arms above their heads.

The Doctor barely managed to keep his feet planted against the floor beneath him, assuming it was because of his trusty trainers. Taking a deep breath, he shouted over the wild rattling and crashing of the mighty ship around them, "This is _mad_, Oohberăn! Stop this now, while you still can!" He could feel the force of the time speeding past outside pressing down against him, both physically and psychically, presumably because he was positioned in the very head of the vessel. He momentarily hoped that wherever Martha was, she was alright.

Oohberăn threw back his head and laughed, not seeming to really care as he slid backwards and fell with a crash against the metal wall placed conveniently behind him. "Why should I stop now, Doctor? All our plans are falling fruitfully into place, and you are at our _mercy_!"

"Actually, we're all at the mercy of the time vortex, but who am I to argue?" The Doctor nearly lost his balance as both legs slid backwards on the titling floor, and he clenched his teeth as the sharp movement caused a pang in his aching chest. "But seriously, you _don't_ know what you're doing, Oohberăn! You've got to _stop_ this!"

"We are nearing our destination!" Dadeena rasped excitedly, tongues waggling.

"Excellent! Prepare for the quest to begin!" Oohberăn bellowed.

The Doctor opened his mouth for one last plea, then heard an ominous creaking noise above his head as the ship shuddered once more. He looked quickly upwards, brown eyes going wide, then a heavy metal pipe came loose from the high ceiling. He ducked his head, trying to protect it as much as possible from the deadly impact that he knew was about to come, then felt it strike his back and shoulders with the force of a freight train. Its weight snapped the chains suspending his arms, and they snaked around him like circling cobras, viciously tearing the skin of his arms and striking him hard enough to leave bruises.

He had time to notice all of this before the piping slammed down into his skull, literally crushing the very breath from his lungs. He crumpled to the ground, gasping, then knew no more.

Oohberăn laughed darkly as the Voyager ship came to a rough stop, pushing off from his place at the wall. He glanced at the slumping queen and her guard, then his alien eyes flitted over the blood pooling around the unconscious Doctor's battered body.

"What should I do with him?" Sĕsmenan hissed breathlessly, noticing the direction of Oohberăn's stare. "He might attempt to alter our glorious plans."

"Leave him. He will not bother us, and the other two are even less of a nuisance than he is. Now, gather yourselves together, and we will go out and gain the Warp Diamond."

The other Voyagers nodded briskly, and turned for their weapons. Oohberăn pulled his lethal blaster ray from the depths of his cloak, lips turning up into the smile of a predator with its prey nearly in hand. It was time to accomplish great things. And there was absolutely nothing the Doctor could do to stop them.

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I just REALLY like knocking the Doctor out, for some sick reason. *grins evilly* Anyway, please review. I would love to hear from all of you! :D


	8. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Doctor Who_. Sorry, but it's the truth. :(

**A/N: **Thanks so much for all the kind reviews I got on the last chapter. Each and every one of them always makes my day! :D

**Summary:** Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.

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Chapter Eight

"Martha. Martha. Martha, _please_ wake up."

Stirring groggily, Martha carefully opened her eyes and squinted at the sudden intrusion of light to her previously dark world. She found that she was lying on her left side, facing the wall. She was so close to it that she could see every dent and fleck of rust in the metal that made up the wall. And her head was throbbing with sharp pain, right near the crown of her head.

Trying to gather her wits again, she closed her eyes and quickly did a mental scan of her body. Nothing seemed broken, though there were several aching places where she didn't doubt that huge bruises were already forming. Needless to say, she was going to have an unsightly bruise at the top of her head, though it was thankfully covered neatly by her hair.

Swallowing back the sour taste of bile, Martha opened her eyes again and moved jerkily into a sitting position. She touched one hand to her aching skull, then focused on James, who was crouched before her. A smear of blood marred his dirty cheek, and he was staring at her with much concern, eyes very round. "James? Are you okay?" she asked, eyes immediately zeroing in on the worrying blood.

"I'm fine; it's only a scratch," he answered in a quiet voice. "But I thought that _you_ were dead, Miss Martha. You just lay there so still after you hit your head…"

"Don't worry, James. I'm going to be just fine," Martha told him kindly, taking that moment to glance around at their surroundings. They seemed to be inside another room, like the one off the hallway that they had hid inside earlier. "Where are we? The last thing I remember, we were walking out in the corridor, yeah?"

James blushed, seeming embarrassed. "I hope you'll forgive me for being so forward, but I'm afraid I dragged you in here after the mighty shaking stopped," he said awkwardly. "I heard more of the creatures coming, and thought it best that we weren't caught."

"Good thinking." Martha moved slowly into a standing position, while James leapt to his feet. She swayed slightly, and he caught her by the arm and prevented her from toppling back over. She turned a grateful smile to him, and he hurriedly jerked his hand away from her arm like it was on fire. Sensing that he was slightly embarrassed at having touched her arm, even through cloth, Martha tactfully changed the subject. "So…have you heard anything else since you dragged me in here? The creatures prowling the corridor, maybe?"

He shook his head gravely. "No, Miss Martha. It's been as silent as the grave. Not a single being has passed us by since the first couple of groups went on their way. And this was nearly an hour ago, I believe."

"An hour ago. Right." Martha's brow furrowed. "Okay, so this is just a guess, but maybe it means that the shaking we felt was something pretty important. Then all the scouts and lizard blokes rushed round getting ready for something, and left."

James merely nodded.

"Then if they're all busy, we can find the Doctor," she continued, dark eyes sparkling at the impromptu plan. "And he can help us stop these bloody aliens from whatever it is they're on about, yeah?"

When James just nodded briefly as a reply, Martha turned and crept towards a door in the wall across from them. She put her hand on the cool knob, then took a deep breath and slowly opened it. Peering warily out into the well-lighted corridor, she saw not a soul in either direction. "Well, this is good. No one's out here right now, and we should have the place to ourselves, right?"

"I don't know," was James' shy response.

Martha frowned worriedly at him. Something was obviously bothering him, though she hadn't the slightest idea what. Maybe the thought of aliens were getting to him again? She hoped he wouldn't start thinking they'd been kidnapped by the French again, as _that_ barmy theory had gotten more than a little old. "Well, let's get on with it," she said encouragingly, stepping out into the hallway. James silently followed, then let the door close quietly behind him.

They wordlessly started in the same direction that they had been going earlier, rounding a sharp corner. Or at least, Martha _hoped_ it was the way they'd been going earlier. It could have been the way back to the cells, for all she knew. The featureless corridor looked all the same to her, and James wasn't exactly offering any directional help.

Just up ahead, she could hear a faint whirring sound, like the motors of several cars, all rumbling in unison. If she was guessing correctly, then she assumed that she was hearing the engines of the ship they were currently onboard. And wherever the engines were, maybe whoever was in charge was around that area, too. And if she could just use something to threaten whoever was behind all this, then maybe she could get him to tell her what their plans were. And more importantly, where the Doctor and Queen Elizabeth were being held. She chose to ignore the tiny voice in the back of her head, whispering that maybe _neither_ of them were alright. That maybe the scouts had already done to them what she and James had seen them do to the human remains.

And what would happen to history if the queen of England turned up missing after a bunch of hairy creatures invaded the streets?

The sounds of the alleged engine were growing louder still. And if that wasn't enough to designate that they were slowly reaching the most important part of the ship, then the jewels encrusted in the walls most certainly were. Enormous, glittering gems of various sizes were pressed firmly into the metal, apparently for some sort of decoration. There didn't seem to be much of a pattern, but it was obvious that the stones were actually quite precious.

Martha hesitated as they came to another corner, the sounds of the engines still chugging away. She held out an arm towards the pale-faced James, gesturing for him to stay back, then pressed herself against the wall. Creeping forward, shuddering at the coolness of the metal threw her crocheted jacket, she then carefully peered round the corner to study their surroundings.

A scout, huge and blundering, was standing with its back to her just a few feet away. Martha suppressed a gasp, and her eyes widened as she froze, waiting for the scout to turn and savagely rip her to shreds. When this didn't actually happen, she relaxed a little and warily studied its flea-infested fur. Just what exactly was it doing? There didn't seem to be any others of its kind in the large room, which was indeed some sort of engine room, as she had guessed, and it was merely standing there. Perhaps waiting for something? But for what, exactly?

"I demand to be released _immediately_!" came a harsh voice, suddenly breaking the near-silence. Martha started, fully prepared to duck back behind the wall and run for her life, then she noticed the speaker. The queen, her beautiful dress now looking bedraggled and her crown missing, was chained some distance away from the doorway, against the wall. Her arms dangled limply from two dull-looking chains that hung from the ceiling, and her ankles were secured roughly to the floor with more chains. Sir David was beside her, similarly restrained.

"That's…that's Her Majesty!" James murmured, sounding awestruck as he stared curiously around Martha. His eyes were wide at the sight of the queen and her protector, and he paid the dangerous creature a few feet away from their position no mind.

"Yeah, the one and only," Martha muttered back, brow furrowing. "But how the heck we're going to get her out of here with that scout standing guard, I have absolutely _no_ idea."

"We have to rescue her, no matter what it takes," James agreed quietly, his voice sounding intense. "It's our _duty_."

Martha nodded silently, thinking hard. She could hear the queen complaining at the top of her lungs, with the bloodied Sir David occasionally adding a few scathing remarks, but didn't pay either of them much attention. She stared at the back of the scout, then glanced thoughtfully around the empty corridor. There was nothing that she could possibly use as a weapon against it, and it would take something pretty sturdy to knock the brute out.

_The Doctor would know what to do, _a voice announced smugly in the back of her mind, as a nearly overwhelming tide of hopelessness overwhelmed her. Yes, he _would_ know what to do. And even if he didn't, he would just blunder on into danger and save the day without even trying. That was one of the things that Martha loved about him, though watching him be so heroic often made her feel small and insignificant.

But the Doctor wasn't here right now, and she needed to figure things out on her own. She had to preserve the timelines, or whatever the Time Lord was always on about.

As this thought moved through her brain, Martha's eyes landed on a broken piece of metal piping just inside the doorway. Its edges were jagged, and there was a large hole in the wall above where it lay abandoned on the floor. She assumed that it had come loose when the ship had been rocking so frantically an hour earlier, though she couldn't be sure. In her mind's eye, she could clearly see herself sneaking up on the scout and whacking it upside the head with the piping. But the only problem with this otherwise brilliant plan was that the piping was much too close to the fierce alien for her liking.

"Miss Martha?" James suddenly hissed, sounding concerned. "I believe that someone else in the room is injured. I can see large amounts of blood around his body."

Martha's heart went cold, and she froze. Moving slowly, she peered around the scout that had been blocking the majority of her view. Then she swallowed hard to fight the panic she could feel bubbling up inside her when she saw the Doctor's crumpled form. He was laying face down in a pool of his own blood, a large chunk of pipe that had apparently fallen from the ceiling crushing him into the floor. And since none of the blood was at all smeared, she could only guess that he had been there for at least as hour, as the pipe had most likely fallen during the ship's strange quaking.

"Oh my God," she whispered, almost too softly to even be overheard. She closed her eyes for several seconds, hands starting to shake. Even with her eyes pressed tightly closed, all she could see was the crimson blood, horrifically soaking the Doctor's brown coat.

"Miss Martha? What's wrong?" James gingerly touched her arm, and she grudgingly opened her eyes with a wary glance at the scout. It still appeared to be none the wiser to their presence.

"That's _him_. That's the Doctor, James."

James stared at the crumpled form with new eyes, then muttered something under his breath. Turning back to Martha, he asked in a quiet tone, "What can we do?"

She took a deep breath, the risky plan that she had been forming to save the queen and her protector now a necessity. "See that bit of metal piping there on the floor?" She waited until he nodded, then continued, "While I distract the scout, you grab it and hit him on the head as hard as you can, okay?"

James grabbed frantically at her arm, as though trying to hold her back. "But, Miss Martha! It's too _dangerous_! You could be injured or _worse_!" he squawked.

Martha gently shook his hand off, pretty features settling into an expression of determination. "It doesn't matter, James. I've _got_ to help the Doctor. He…" She hesitated, swallowing hard, "…he doesn't look really good right now."

James stepped back, throat working as he also swallowed. "Be…be careful," he requested of her in a small voice.

She nodded briskly, then turned back to face the scout. Taking a deep breath, and very conscious of James' anxious eyes on her back, she darted forward before she could lose her nerve. Leaping past the scout and cringing as her arm brushed against its disgusting, dripping fur, and jumped in front of it and waved her arms madly. "Oi, you big, ugly bloke! Come and get me!" she cried, trying to sound as brave as possible.

The scout's gruesome eyes widened, then it revealed its yellowed and broken teeth in what could be considered a sick smile. Its forked tongue came out and licked its bloated lips, then it lashed out with one arm before Martha could even blink. Its clawed paw made contact with Martha's chest, and knocked the very breath from her. She found herself flung backwards through the air, then crashed into the wall behind her with a mighty thud. She slid down and landed in a heap on the floor, groaning as the bruise on her head throbbed with pain.

The scout lumbered slowly forward, the look on its ugly face seeming to signify that it was enjoying her obvious fear. And probably the fact that it was about to get a satisfying meal of human flesh, as well.

Martha couldn't bring herself to look away as the hairy beast came right at her, and found that her mouth had suddenly gone very dry. Where on _earth_ was James? She couldn't help wondering if he was too frightened to come out of hiding, then immediately felt bad for her cruel thoughts. He couldn't help being scared; he hadn't seen all the strange and alien things that she so far had in her short life.

The scout growled, the disturbing sound rolling from deep within its chest, and a breeze of putrid breath washed hotly over Martha's face. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, cringing back against the wall and thinking desperately of her family back home, the family that she was never going to see again. Then she waited for the blow of death, the tearing and shredding of claws and teeth devouring her flesh.

But then she heard a solid thump, followed by another thud, and she cautiously opened her eyes. James stood over the fallen scout, holding the length of piping in shaking hands. "Are…are you all right?" he asked in a quivering voice.

"Yeah, thanks to you," Martha said with a weary smile. She pushed herself shakily to her feet, weakly brushing the hair back from her sweaty forehead. "That was _brilliant_, James. I think you probably just saved my life. _Again_. It's becoming quite a habit, isn't it?"

James dropped the pipe, blushing beat red. "I…I, um…"

Deciding not to cause her meek rescuer any further embarrassment, Martha turned and rushed towards the Doctor. As she did so, heart thudding fearfully in her chest, the queen suddenly exploded, "It's _you_! You're the one who was with that _Doctor_, the one who caused us to be transported to this horrible place!"

"I offer you a death by execution sword, just as I will give your friend," Sir David announced gravely. "Once we escape from this, you'll both be beheaded in a public area so all will see your shame at betraying Her Majesty."

Martha paused, scowling darkly in their direction. "Oh, shut up," she ordered with irritation, watching the queen's jaw drop with rage before continuing on towards her goal. She dropped to her knees beside the Doctor, then fumbled through the slick blood coating his body to feel for a pulse. She was horrified to find that there wasn't one throbbing beneath her fingers, only the feel of clammy, dead flesh. "Oh my God," she whispered again, forgetting her worries about internal damage and moving him when he was hurt. "James, help me move this pipe!"

James hurriedly bent over and gripped the heavy piece of metal pipe with both hands, while Martha jumped to her feet and also tugged with all her strength. Between the two of them, it rolled off the Doctor with a tremendous crash and rolled several feet before finally coming to a stop. James stepped back, brow creasing with worry, and stared as Martha dropped back to her knees beside the Doctor again.

"Okay, Doctor. You can do this. Just…do something Time Lord-ish and _breathe_!" she shouted breathlessly at him, trying her best to keep the fear out of her voice as she pushed his arm with both hands. He rolled limply over onto his back, face much too pale and dried blood coating the old cut on his forehead. His head lolled to the side, and despite Martha's command, he showed no signs of starting to breathe again. Martha shoved the heavy chains securing the Doctor's feet around so that his legs weren't so awkwardly twisted, then stared down at him with dull eyes. _What the hell do I do?_ she thought frantically. _I have no _idea_ how his body works, except for the whole two hearts thing!_

"I'm…I'm sorry, Miss Martha," James said grimly.

"He's _not_ dead!" Martha screamed at him, unable to help herself. "He's going to be _all right_!"

James flinched at her harsh voice, then looked down at the floor.

Martha didn't have time to dwell on the fact that she had very likely damaged her new friend's feelings. Instead, she focused only on the Doctor's battered and bloody body. She took a deep breath, then leaned down and breathed into his mouth while pinching his nose closed. Then she leaned back again and started the compressions, switching between both sides of his chest, counting tensely under her breath. This reminded her a lot of when the Plasmavore had drained all his blood, forcing her to do the exact same thing, though hopefully this time wouldn't end with her being unconscious.

Repeating the process a total of four times, Martha was starting to lose hope. She could feel the tears leaking down her cheeks, and it was getting hard to breathe thanks to the pounding of her heart. _Oh God,_ she thought fearfully, blinking rapidly as she tried to see through the tears. _Doctor, just come _on_!_

James warily touched her shoulder, his touch light. "Miss Martha, I don't think–" he began.

Martha stopped doing compressions and pounded both fists against the Doctor's chest. "Doctor, you've _got_ to wake _up_!" she cried desperately, concerned when she found she could barely even see, and that her cheeks were completely soaked. And yet she barely even realized that she was the one crying, as she was starting to feel detached from the whole situation, numb.

"Martha." James touched her shoulder again.

"You don't _understand_, James! He's _not_ dead; he _can't_ be! He…he _can't_ be…" Her voice trailed off weakly, and Martha let her head fall onto the Doctor's chest. Ignoring the red mess, she let her tears mingle with the Time Lord's spilled blood, whole body shaking with her sobs. She paid no attention to anything else around her, only the fact that the Doctor was _dead_. And not only had she lost him forever, but she had _no_ idea how to work the TARDIS. She didn't even know where the TARDIS _was_, only that it had been transported onto the ship with them. She was trapped here alone, in 1559, for the rest of her life. She would die before she was even born.

"Blimey, that's _one_ way to get the old beaters working again!" The Doctor unexpectedly sprang up into a sitting position, sending Martha flying with a small shriek of surprise. Not seeming to notice, the Doctor peered with distaste down at his bloodied coat. "Ah, I liked this coat. Janis Joplin gave me this coat." He shook his head sadly. "Luckily, I stocked the TARDIS up with some strain remover last week, after that incident with the giant tomatoes."

"Doctor!" Martha, ignoring his rambling, threw her arms round his neck and hugged him as hard as she could. He winced with pain, and she quickly pulled back. "I'm sorry," she apologized quickly. "But I thought you were _dead_! There wasn't a pulse, and you're weren't breathing–"

"Oh, just a slight incident with a heart stopping and a pipe falling out of the ceiling; nothing too serious," the Doctor said nonchalantly, pulling out his sonic screwdriver with a slight wince and aiming it at the chains around his ankles. "And by the way, who's your friend?" he asked causally, not looking up from his work.

Martha's eyes widened as she remembered James, and turned to look at him. He was stared with slightly parted lips at the Doctor, not seeming to hold any resentment against her after her outburst. Feeling her cheeks heating up, she said quickly, "Um…Doctor, this is James. He and were the only ones left alive in a cell a ways away on the ship." She hesitated, and the Doctor glanced up, arching a brow. "I…I kind of invited him to come along on the TARDIS," she blurted out, before she could lose her nerve.

The Doctor studied James with a curious expression. "Did you now?"

Martha pulled a face, suddenly even more nervous. "You don't mind, do y–"

"Release me at _once_!" Queen Elizabeth suddenly bellowed, rattling her chains angrily.

"Fine, _fine_," the Doctor aimed in her direction, leaping to his feet as his chains finally snapped off. He offered Martha a hand and pulled her after him. "Cheeky woman," he added tetchily under his breath, so only Martha could hear him.

"And what the hell is going on around here?" Martha demanded, following the Doctor as he walked over to start work on Queen Elizabeth's twin sets of chains. "The whole ship started shaking, and there were scouts and lizard blokes running amok _everywhere_."

"It was terrifying," James contributed hesitantly.

"Well, as soon as I get Her Majesty and Sir David free, we need to find a way out of the ship. And I'll explain everything on the way." The Doctor finished one set of chains, then bent over to take care of the other set.

"You'd better," Martha said sternly, folding her arms.

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I found it really hard to post this after watching _The End of Time Part Two_, aka the regeneration** of our favorite Doctor. *breaks down sobbing* And I hope all of you will still enjoy reading this fic, since the Doctor on TV has now regenerated into Matt Smith… O.O Anyway, please make my day and review. :)**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Doctor Who_. Sorry, but it's the truth. :(

**A/N: **For those of you who are worried, the whump isn't over yet! *grins evilly* Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, which were much appreciated, and I'd love to hear from you again when you finish reading!

**Summary:** Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.

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Chapter Nine

The chains securing Sir David's arms above his head finally snapped, and he staggered several steps as he tried to get his balance back. Steadying himself, he stood firm and turned to the queen. "Are you well, Your Majesty?" he asked with much concern.

"Of _course_ I'm not, Sir David, don't be _absurd_," she snapped, grandly smoothing a tangle of hair back from her face. "We are being held captive by men from the stars, and our only source of help is from _him_." She gestured sharply towards the Doctor with one hand, frowning in a very unqueenly manner.

"_Blimey_, you're determined not to like me," the Doctor said, raising both eyebrows. He turned to Martha and James, the latter who was still staring at him with a slightly dazed expression. "All right, we've got to find a way out of the ship."

"Can't we just find the TARDIS and use it to return, er, Her Majesty and Sir David to their proper time?" Martha asked, blushing when she purposely didn't mention taking James back. This didn't escape the Doctor's notice, though he didn't comment.

"No time. We need to stop the Voyagers before they can get their paws on the Warp Diamond." The Doctor strode over to what looked to Martha like the control panel for the ship, and did something clever with his sonic screwdriver. Schematics of the entire ship popped up on a large screen, and the Doctor musingly touched a few keys as he intently studied the map.

"Warp Diamond? What are you on about?" Martha wanted to know, brow furrowing with confusion.

The Doctor made a slight sound of frustration, not turning round to face her. "A long time ago, the Time Lords created a gem that could be attached to a time warp device, and it could apparently bend reality around it, changing the universe to however the person who owned it wanted it to be changed. Never heard of it, myself. But Oohberăn swears up and down that the thing exists."

As though sensing Martha's look of puzzlement at the unfamiliar name, he quickly clarified. "Oohberăn. Lead lizard bloke of the Voyagers. Anyway, the Time Lords sent the Diamond back in time to keep it safe from our nasty little bunch of space pirates, locking the period of history against their very DNA signatures. Made Oohberăn and his mates pretty mad that they weren't going to be able to get their sought-after treasure, until they got the _brilliant_ idea to assimilate human beings and temporarily change their DNA codings."

Martha's eyes widened as she finally understood what he meant. "_Assimilation_? That's what the Plasmavore was doing on the moon!" she realized, exchanging a glance with James. Her friend looked dazed and confused, blinking as he tried to absorb the Doctor's puzzling words. "All those human remains we found, James! The ones that the scouts were, um…" She swallowed hard before continuing. "The Voyagers were sucking them up into themselves!"

James frowned. "Miss Martha, this is _insane_," he said frankly.

"Right you are, Jamie boy!" the Doctor exclaimed brightly. "Ah-_ha_! Here we go! Molto bene!"

"What did you do?" Martha rushed to his side and peered down at the controls, though she had no idea what any of them meant. They were _unbelievably_ alien, and _naturally_ they were made of metal, just like everything else around them.

"I've opened a door down the corridor over there." The Doctor gestured with his sonic screwdriver in the general direction of the doorway that Martha and James had only just entered through minutes earlier. "Now we can get out of the ship and stop Oohberăn and his mates from destroying the universe and recreating it in their image. I tried to explain to him how boring _that_ would be, but he didn't exactly listen. And since neither of us would look good as a lizard, what do you say we get out there and give them a piece of our minds?"

Martha, still thinking of the poor humans that had been assimilated, laughed nervously. "Just not literally, right? Like you did with the Plasmavore, letting her drink your blood? I don't much fancy getting turned into mush today, thanks."

"Nah, of course not. Why would we do a daft thing like that?" The Doctor paused, the expression that meant he was really thinking about something coming to his face. "Well, I _say_ we wouldn't do something like that…"

"Doctor! I'm _not_ going to let those aliens assimilate you!" Martha knew that CPR wouldn't repair the damage those lizard blokes were capable of doing to a body.

The Doctor gave her a hard look, glancing over at James before flipping his screwdriver once and slipping it back into his pocket. "Let's not go on about that right now, eh? Come on, Martha. Oh, and you too, Jamie boy." He started for the corridor, Martha on his heels and James rushing to catch up.

"Halt!" Queen Elizabeth suddenly shouted, her commanding voice ringing out behind them.

The Doctor halted, rolling his eyes heavenward, then turned back round to face her. "What _now_? You just interrupted me when I was walking out to save the human race. I _hate_ it when people do that."

The queen ignored his words, more than likely saving them up in her memory for later. She was always looking for excuses to behead him, after all. "You cannot expect me to stay in this infernal place alone. You must _immediately_ escort me back to safety," she demanded, planting both hands firmly on her hips.

"Her Majesty is correct," Sir David announced, nodding grimly.

"_Blimey_, you're both dimwitted," the Doctor said irritably. He wasn't in the best of moods, especially since he was still so weak from being knocked out. "Have you been listening to a word I've just said? No? _We're in another time period_, I can't just pop out the back door and return you to Buckingham Palace. And I'm a bit busy at the moment." He turned round on his heel again and strode out into the corridor.

Queen Elizabeth made a sound of rage, expression turning absolutely thunderous.

Martha shrugged apologetically at the queen and her guard, then followed the Time Lord. James hurried after her, still looking slightly dazed with the strange situation. "Sorry, James. This is probably a bit much for you, yeah?"

"I don't see how things can get much worse," he admitted as he stayed close to her side. "Giant lizards and savage beasts, as well as Her Majesty threatening execution. I've already experienced more than enough excitement and adventure for a lifetime."

Thinking of the fact that they were about to step outside into a different time than the one they had just left, Martha raised her eyebrows. "Um…right," she said, not bothering to confuse him even more than he already was. It was best just to let him see for himself.

"All right, here we go. This is the one," the Doctor said to no one in particular, turning his screwdriver on a blank expanse of wall. Martha waited for a few seconds, listening to the irritating buzzing noise, and was just about to ask him if he thought he might have a concussion, when the wall slid away to reveal an open doorway.

James muttered something unintelligible under his breath, sounding dazed.

Martha gripped the doorway and pushed past the Doctor, slowly stepping out of the ship. She spared its outer wall a momentary glance, seeing that it was absolutely _massive_, and made of shining metal, then turned her attention back to the situation at hand. She was standing in the middle of an open field, leafy trees lining its edges. Far in the distance, a stone castle sat solidly atop a hill. The sky above was unbelievably blue, full of white clouds and not a single trace of pollution.

James staggered through the opening. He turned in a slow circle and stared wordlessly at the huge field that didn't even come close to resembling the busy town he had left behind.

"Ha! Molto bene!" The Doctor grinned brightly, glancing around as he followed Martha and tucked his sonic screwdriver away again. "The Middle Ages; around the seventh century, I'd say. Brilliant, this is. One of my favorite–" He broke off and stumbled, clutching his side while bending over and trying to breathe normally.

Martha's eyes widened, and she momentarily forgot where they were. "Doctor? Doctor, are you alright?" she cried, rushing over to him.

"Fine," he managed to grunt through gritted teeth, wincing as he slowly straightened back up. "Just feeling a bit, you know, blah. Had a giant pipe fall on me and all." It was painfully obvious that he was only trying to keep her from worrying about him. The grimace twisting his boyish features thoroughly explained how he was _really_ feeling.

"You're _not_ fine," she said severely, briefly toying with the idea of whacking him upside the head for his stupidity, but worrying that it might cause him to pass out. "I think you should go back inside and try to find the TARDIS. James and I will take care of stopping these Voyagers, yeah? All we need to do is get to the Warp Diamond before they do, then we can leave."

"It's too dangerous, Martha," the Doctor told her, grimace slipping off his face like it had never even been there. "Besides, I _am_ fine. Don't forget that I'm _the_ Doctor, and I probably know when I'm not feeling well enough to stop aliens from destroying the planet. And now isn't one of those times," he added quickly, almost as though he were trying to convince himself.

Martha planted both hands on her hips, and the Doctor was alarmingly reminded of Francine Jones. "Fine, then. If you pass out, then it's your own bloody fault!" she said angrily.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, like this was the biggest inconvenience he had ever experienced. "Blimey. Alright, if we're done with all the _dramatics_, ready to go find the Warp Diamond before the Voyagers do?"

"What on God's green Earth…? Where _are_ we?" Queen Elizabeth had somehow come out of the spaceship without any of them noticing, faithful Sir David right on her heels. She stared incredulously at the spaceship she had just exited, then at her new surroundings. "I demand that you return me to England _immediately_!"

The Doctor awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "We _are_ in England, Your Majesty," he said with exaggerated respect. "Just…not exactly the right time period. Sorry."

"Cease such nonsense and take us back _immediately_!" Sir David looked like he wanted to draw his sword and execute the Doctor on the spot, then realized that the Voyagers had taken it.

"As soon as we're done saving the entire reality, if that's all right with you," the Doctor muttered insolently, rubbing his side when he didn't think that Martha was looking. He then turned his back on them and looked towards Martha and James. "Okay, I set the sonic screwdriver to pick up the Warp Diamond's energy traces while I was locating the door out of there. Very good at multitasking, that's me." As he talked, the Doctor pulled out the said screwdriver and twisted its end to the right. He then held it towards the distant castle that sat atop the hill. "Ah-_ha_! There we go! Brilliant."

"So I'm assuming it's going to be hidden in town somewhere?" Martha guessed, letting her arms fall back to her sides.

"Right you are. You're a _star_, Martha Jones." The Doctor grinned at her, then started off across the field at a brisk walk. "Come on, then!" he called nonchalantly after his shoulder.

"I demand that you halt _immediately_!" The queen gathered up her skirts and raced off after the Doctor. Sir David jogged along beside her, looking murderous. "I want an explanation as to what's happening, and I want it _now_!"

"Only if you can keep up, Your Majesty! Haven't got time to stand round and talk at the moment!" he called cheekily back to her.

Martha started following them at a slower pace, and James walked beside her. She shot him a look from the corner of her eye, biting her lip. "How're you doing, James?" she asked with barely suppressed concern. That would be just what she needed, James having a panic attack and collapsing to the ground while she and the Doctor were trying to talk to the Voyagers.

James smiled shyly at her. "This is brilliant, Miss Martha. Mad, but brilliant."

Martha grinned with pride, feeling like he was her protégé; much like she was to the Doctor. "I know. It took me a bit to get used to all this, but it's _amazing_. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

He hesitated. "Is it true…what he said? Your friend, I mean. About…different _time_ periods?"

"Yes, it's true," she answered gently. "That means we're in the past. Before either of us have even been _born_."

James looked awed. "I still don't understand how any of this is _possible_, but it's still brilliant," he told her grimly.

Martha laughed. "Yeah, I know. I bet you never thought you'd ever be accompanying the queen of England in the past, tracking down alien creatures."

"No, Miss Martha, I never did." He paused for a few seconds, apparently thinking. "What you've told me about this being the past…" he said carefully. "Does that mean you could travel into the future, see things that haven't even happened yet?" When she nodded her consent, he continued, "Were you born in the future, Miss Martha? If you don't mind me asking." He blushed darkly.

"Yes, James. I was born in 1984." She smiled when she saw his dazed expression, glancing momentarily ahead to make sure that they were keeping up with the Doctor.

"19…84? That's…I can't…_amazing_," he stuttered, shaking his head dizzily.

"You'll get used to it. After you've traveled in the TARDIS for a bit." Martha grinned at him, then reached out and took his hand. "Come on; let's catch up with the Doctor. The queen is more than likely giving him an earful, and he'll probably need our help."

She and James jogged forward to catch up.

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Please review! :D And if it's not too much trouble, could you check out a couple new one shots of mine in your spare time? They're called _Before the Song Ends_ and _A New Man_. Neither of them have many new reviews yet, and I would love to hear from all of you!


	10. Chapter Ten

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Doctor Who_. Sorry, but it's the truth. :(

**A/N: **Get your tissues out, guys. This is going to be a pretty sad chapter, though there will be plenty of DoctorWhump to sustain you whumpaholics… lol And thanks so much for all the reviews! :D

**Summary:** Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.

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Chapter Ten

Martha rubbed her aching temple with one hand as they approached the town. She could already see the crowded buildings that were gathered together at the bottom of the castle, and the local villagers going about their daily tasks. But the thrilling moment of seeing a place and its people in the distant past was ruined for her. Queen Elizabeth hadn't shut up the entire walk, and Sir David constantly saw fit to pipe in with his own comments, usually involving beheading and sudden death for the rest of them.

"Here we are!" the Doctor burst out happily, rubbing his side with one hand while positioning his sonic screwdriver in the air with the other. He didn't seem to notice that he'd just interrupted Queen Elizabeth in midsentence, though Martha couldn't miss it. The queen miraculously fell silent, head held haughtily high as she glanced round. "I think we're getting pretty close now; _blimey_, my teeth are starting to itch!"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Martha asked with a slight frown, mystified.

"Oh, nothing really. Only that I'm picking up high readings of time warpic energy. _Aka_, the Warp Diamond." The Doctor grinned at her.

James blinked. "You can sense this mysterious object we're looking for?"

"Yeah. Easy-peasy. But only on a low-level telepathic frequency. I just need to reset the transmitters of my sonic, and it'll do all the hard work for me…" The Doctor's voice trailed off as he continued to muck about with his screwdriver, twisting its end this way and that.

Seeing James's obvious confusion, Martha grinned at him. "He's an alien. And he can basically read minds. That's what he means by all that 'telepathic frequency' technobabble."

James only stared at her. "I have _no_ idea what most of your words mean, but I'll just go with what you're saying," he said gravely.

Smiling over at him again, Martha glanced round as they walked into the center of town. People in medieval dress milled all around them, the woman clothed in long dresses and the men wearing trousers, pressed shirts, and strange hats. She noticed that most of the men seemed to be standing around talking about the day's events, while the woman herded groups of children, took laundry down from trees, or scooped water from a well in the middle of the street.

Hmmm. So it wasn't much different than _her_ time, then.

"This is amazing," James told her sincerely. "I can hardly tell that this isn't my own time, though many small things are…different here. And there's this…feeling in the air. I can't really explain it." He watched with unsuppressed awe as two men walked past, pulling a pair of well-loaded horses after them.

"This place is _filthy_," Queen Elizabeth muttered, though in a tone loud enough for all of them to hear her. Sir David stayed close to her side, glancing around warily. "And I'm not saying that I believe anything you've told me, _Doctor_, but I wish to return home as soon as possible. Not only have I missed my own coronation ceremony, but the lovely _fireworks_ I had planned as well. This is a _disaster_!"

Instead of answering, the Doctor made a sound of vague interest. "I think I've got something, Martha. Definitely the Diamond." He considered, pausing to look back at the rest of them. "Oh, and you too, Jamie-boy. Mustn't keep forgetting you, since you'll be traveling with us." He grinned eagerly, then bounced off again. The others hurried to catch up.

"So you're saying we're close?" Martha asked, struggling to keep pace with the Time Lord. His long legs moved him forward much too quickly, especially when she was struggling to avoid hungry dogs and stray chickens alike. Not to mention all the dirty-faced children who roamed the streets, more than likely looking for some sort of trouble to get into.

"_Very_ close. Think close and then add another bucket of close, followed by several sprinkles of close. Yeah, I think so," the Doctor concluded, glancing about while aiming his screwdriver in several random directions. Including into a bucket of suspicious-smelling slop that one woman was walking past with. "Just need to _find_ it…"

"We're going to beat those lizards, then." James looked excited. "And save the city."

"It's a bit bigger than that, James," Martha told him gently. "We're going to save every _universe_ in existence. But if you want to only think of the city, feel free. All of reality is pretty hard to imagine, I understand. But, yeah. We're going to beat those lizards."

"Of _course_ we are! How could you ever doubt me, Jamie-boy?" the Doctor exclaimed with mock hurt, dropping to his knees and peering under the foundation of a house. It sat a bit up from the ground, which allowed the Doctor to poke his entire arm underneath and grope around.

James blushed. "Sorry."

"He's just joshing you, James. Don't listen to him." Martha glared severely at the Doctor, though he didn't seem to notice.

"I must ask. Will this nonsense _ever_ come to a close?" the queen demanded frostily. "Walking through town is one thing, but lying under the homes of others and looking for fancied treasure is _quite_ another!"

Queen Elizabeth was right: the Doctor's head and shoulders were now under the house as well, with only his legs sticking out from under it.

Apparently hearing their voices, a dusty window creaked open in the said house. "Oi! What do ya think you're doin', muckin' about under me _house_?" a rather large woman with her hair tied back in a kerchief demanded, leaning out the window to peer down at the Doctor.

Thinking fast, Martha bent over and fumbled in the Doctor's pocket, ignoring his faint cry of surprise from under the house. She pulled out the psychic paper, holding it up so the woman could plainly see it. "Sorry. We're the, uh, foundation inspectors. We've come to check for…mold in the, er, dirt. So…none of your family will get sick?" she finished lamely, beaming in a way that she hoped seemed convincing enough.

The woman squinted suspiciously at the leather wallet. "What, you expect me t' be able t' read that bloody thing? And leave the mold down there for all I care! Johny deserves a bit o' sickness!" The window slammed shut with an enormous rattle.

Martha slowly lowered the wallet. "Oh. Uh…never mind, then. Have a nice day, ma'am."

At this point, the Doctor crawled carefully from under the house, trying to keep from bumping his head. Even though he was covered in dust, he looked positively pleased. "Who's _brilliant_? Please hold your applause, yeah?" He held up a glittering stone roughly the size of a large apple, still polished and brand-new despite being buried in the dirt.

Martha helped the Doctor to his feet, slipping the psychic paper back into his pocket. "That's the Warp Diamond?" she asked, staring at its glittering facets, transfixed.

"Yup." He casually popped the 'p', moving the stone closer to his face so he could carefully examine it. "That's it, alright. Thought it'd be bigger though…"

"We came all this way for _that_?" Queen Elizabeth didn't bother to hide her distaste, lip curling with revulsion.

"I think it's beautiful," James declared honestly, reaching out like he wanted to touch it. But he jerked his hand back at the last second, looking annoyed at his own behavior.

"What? You can go ahead and touch it, James," Martha said irritably, already guessing the reason for his inability to touch the Diamond.

He vigorously shook his head. "No, Miss Martha. I couldn't. No one of my station has ever even _dreamed_ of touching something so valuable."

The Doctor tantalizingly held out to Warp Diamond to him. "Ah, come on, Jamie-boy! _Live_ a little. Just one little–"

The sudden blast of red energy took all of them by surprise, especially the Doctor. It hit him directly in the side, and he crumpled to the ground with a cry of pain. The Warp Diamond slipped from his grasp and rolled haphazardly across the ground.

A scout, eyes wide with glee and bloodlust, darted forward with surprising speed to grab the glittering jewel. When it was safely in the alien's clawed grasp, the scout moved backwards again. It handed the Warp Diamond to Oohberăn, who cackled triumphantly. He and the rest of the Voyagers had somehow managed to approach without notice, therefore gaining the element of surprise.

Several people screamed, racing away from the developing confrontation. All the chickens that had been pecking around them also made for safety, clucking frantically.

Martha, never taking her eyes from the Voyagers, hurried to kneel beside the Doctor. "Doctor, are you alright?" she asked quietly, lips pressing into a thin line as she watched Oohberăn and his cronies gather round the Warp Diamond, experimentally examining it. They had failed. For once, the Doctor's plan had failed, and they had lost. The very _universe_ was in immediate danger of being destroyed, and she didn't know what to do.

The Doctor replied to her question by sitting up with painful slowness, a grimace painted across his face at the effort of such a small movement. He didn't groan even once, though Martha could tell how much he was hurting. He accepted her offered hand, allowing her to pull him to his feet. "Stop this, Oohberăn," he stated darkly, without even a hint of his usual good humor. "Or _I'll _have to stop you."

Martha felt a hand firmly wrap itself around her own, and looked over. James stood on her other side, clasping her hand in his clammy grip. His face was very pale, and yet it was set with determination. The queen and Sir David looked much less brave, standing a little way behind the rest of them with nearly identical expressions of horror on their faces.

"You _can't_ stop us, Doctor, and I tire of this complete _nonsense_," Oohberăn hissed, trio of tongues flickering threateningly. "You must either surrender and let us return safely to our ship with the Warp Diamond, or we will kill the five of you _now_ instead of _later_."

"You must stop these brutes at _once_, Doctor!" was Queen Elizabeth's shaky input.

The Doctor didn't say anything to this, gritting his teeth together to hold back a moan of pain. "So you haven't noticed, then. Hmmm, pity."

"Noticed _what_?" Dadeena sneered, tongues also flitting between his lips as he rasped.

The Doctor shrugged casually, though the small motion caused him plenty of pain. "Oh, I don't know if I should tell you or not…" he replied nonchalantly.

"Tell me! _Now_! Or I shall crush you _all_!" Sĕsmenan bellowed melodramatically. He was immediately silenced at a glance from Oohberăn, and ashamedly fell back behind the others.

That's when Martha made the connection between the Doctor's words and the fact that the Voyagers were all flickering strangely. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, realization dawning across her face. "You lot are about to lose the human DNA you assimilated! You're going to be _torn apart_!" She couldn't help grinning at the fairness of them getting trapped and destroyed like this. They deserved it, after what they'd done to those poor humans. And to the Doctor.

But not Queen Elizabeth or Sir David. In Martha's opinion, _they_ completely deserved it.

"Right you are, Martha Jones," the Doctor answered her grimly, watching with no satisfaction as the Voyagers looked down at their bodies, as they noticed the small beams of light that could now be seen shining through. "Their bodies are starting to fail them, then the timelock _my_ lot put on this time period is going to destroy them. They weren't meant to be here." His words were fairly ominous, enough so that Oohberăn bellowed angrily,

"Fix this, Doctor! Destroy the timelock so that we may _live_!"

The Doctor staggered, and Martha hurriedly steadied him. When he could concentrate again through the immense pain radiating inside his body, he stared coldly up at the Voyager leader. "Why should I? You killed countless human beings, took their innocent lives from them. Why should I show _you_ mercy?"

Martha shuddered, involuntarily taking a step away from him. She could see why he was called the Oncoming Storm now; his ancient eyes were full of rage and barely concealed darkness. They were haunting, staring out of the Doctor's boyish face as they did. Even if she _didn't_ know his true age, she knew that she would somehow _know_, just by looking into those fearsome eyes.

The scouts were all looking round with confusion now. Their keen eyes flickered from the fading Voyagers to the small crowd of people standing before them. Their gazes especially lingered on the threatening form of the Doctor, probably sensing the incredible danger he poised to them. Martha also noticed that the entire lot of them was slowly backing away from the verbal mêlée.

Light was now shining through much of Oohberăn's reptilian body, and what little remained of his clawed fingers grasped uselessly at thin air. "Because, _Doctor_. Didn't anything I've told you of this Warp Diamond your race created sink into that head of yours? It can't just shape reality into _our_ likeness. It also works for _Time Lords_."

The Doctor went rigid, muscles tensing. Martha realized exactly what the giant lizard was insinuating only a few seconds later, and hurriedly grabbed the Doctor by one arm. "Whatever you do, _don't_ listen to him! He's just trying to make you help them, so he won't _die_! Then he'll turn on you and kill _all_ of us!" she cried desperately, trying to make him cling to reason as best she could.

On cue, he visibly shook himself. "Don't worry, Martha Jones. I'm not ready to turn over to the dark side quite yet," he muttered to her with determination, straightening a little. He winced slightly, but it was obvious that he didn't plan to give in to the Voyagers anytime soon. "You're out of luck, Oohberăn. Funny how that happens, eh? And strangely enough, all your mates have run off to find someone _else_ to play with." He gestured towards the retreating scouts, who had mostly disappeared behind the buildings of the town.

James laughed triumphantly, giving Martha's hand a quick squeeze. She looked over at him and grinned, pleased to see that he didn't seem as afraid as he had once been. She couldn't wait until this was all over, so they could go traveling in the TARDIS together. Just her, James, and the Doctor. It was going to be _brilliant_.

Sĕsmenan roared with rage, and was echoed by Hagsgonnun and Dadeena. Lōneena blinked several times, like he couldn't believe what was happening. And Oohberăn…he just smiled, in a way that made Martha's skin crawl. His tongues flickered ominously, and he flexed his hands, as though testing to see if they still worked. She stared with revulsion at him, wondering exactly what he was going to try his best to convince the Doctor of now.

In fact, she didn't even suspect that he would try anything nonverbal until the humanoid lizard lunged right at her. Martha didn't even have time to scream as Oohberăn shoved the Doctor away, sending him thudding against the dirt. Then he was reaching for her, what was left of his claws glinting fearsomely as they prepared to wrap themselves round her neck…

"No!" James cried, leaping forward and propelling her away from Oohberăn with a single push. Martha landed beside the Doctor in the dirt, and could only stare with horror as Oohberăn grabbed onto James instead of her. He cried out in sudden pain, body jerking as the lizard's claws dug into his shoulders.

"Oohberăn, don't!" the Doctor shouted, heaving himself up again and trying to reach out for James. But Oohberăn jerked James from his reach, cackling insanely. As Martha stared from her place on the ground, taking in the Doctor's expressive look of horror, she had a very bad feeling.

"If you won't help us, Doctor, than your little friend _will_!" Oohberăn snarled jubilantly, staring down into James's pale face with a look of concentration.

Martha sat up, everything feeling like it was in slow motion. Her heart leapt to her throat, and nausea boiled inside her as she remembered the mangled human remains Oohberăn and his mate had left behind for the scouts to finish off. James glanced towards her with excruciating slowness, panic and pain mixing together in his wide eyes, along with something else: resignation. He was resigned to his fate, because he had managed to save her life.

After that, everything happened much too quickly. A look of extreme delight crossed Oohberăn's reptilian face, and James cried out again in agony. Then, before Martha's very eyes, James's body began melting, dissolving away into nothing but disjointed atoms. She heard someone screaming, and it vaguely occurred to her that the tortured sound was coming from her own lips.

The Doctor looked sharply towards her, then he was pulling out his sonic screwdriver. He aimed it expertly at Oohberăn, who suddenly went stiff. He dropped James, and staggered backwards several steps. Then with a bellow of rage and pain, he vanished, followed shortly by his allies. The Doctor was saying something about sonic vibrations dispersing the stolen DNA in Oohberăn's body, but Martha wasn't listening.

Martha crawled forward, kneeling besides James's body. She expected him to get up and laugh shakily, say that he wasn't sure he was quite cut out for time travel after all, especially if he had the chance of getting assimilated again. And yet, she still wasn't very surprised when she saw his eyes. They were glassy and lifeless, staring into nothing. His lips weren't turned up into a tentative smile, and he wasn't afraid of the Voyagers anymore.

Because he was _dead_.

Sobs tore themselves from her throat, and Martha found that she couldn't breathe anymore. A crushing weight was pressing down onto her chest, and she was forced to inhale gasping draws of air as she cried. Tears streamed down her face, blinding her, and a strange darkness was starting to form round her vision. Something inside her said this wasn't good, but she didn't listen to it.

James was _dead_. He was dead because of her befriending him, inviting him to come aboard the TARDIS. And then he had died to save _her_ life, and he wasn't coming back.

"Martha, I'm sorry. I'm so, _so_ sorry," the Doctor was murmuring, having appeared behind his companion without her even noticing.

But she didn't hear his supposedly soothing words, as the strangling darkness closed in around her. The last thing she saw was James's dead eyes, staring up into her own. And then she knew no more.

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***sniffles* Please review if you get the chance, because this story is nearly over! O_O**


	11. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Doctor Who_. Sorry, but it's the truth. :(

**A/N: **Okay, guys. Here's the FINAL CHAPTER. *claps one hand over mouth* Wow, I can't _believe_ it! O_O

**Summary:** Martha and the Doctor travel to 1559, where they meet up with alien pirates. These vicious pirates have only one goal in mind, which happens to involve the deaths of hundreds. Can the Doctor stop them, when he's not doing so well himself? DoctorWhump.

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Epilogue

When Martha next opened her eyes, she was alone in the TARDIS. The time machine's engines purred comfortingly all around her, and its interior's warm colors were comforting. In fact, these distractions momentarily disorientated her. She sat up slowly and rubbed the red mark on her cheek, caused from pressing her face against the grating that made up the floor, and tried to remember what she was doing here. Something about the Voyagers, and finally getting off their ship. Panic, confusion. Excruciating sadness.

And then she remembered.

James's death. He had leapt in front of her, preventing Oohberăn from assimilating her. Then the Doctor had done something clever with his sonic screwdriver, and Oohberăn and his cronies had disintegrated away into nothingness. Martha shuddered as she remembered the look of horror that had come into the Doctor's eyes, how he had tried to comfort her. It wasn't just her who would mourn James's death. The Doctor hadn't known 'Jamie-boy' very long, but he had already become relatively close to him.

Getting slowly to her feet, feeling like she had been aged hundreds of years, she glanced round the control room. There was no sign of the Doctor. He had left her here alone, going off to who knew where. Apparently he'd managed to locate the TARDIS aboard the Voyager ship, after she'd passed out. And now that she thought about it, there was no sign of Queen Elizabeth or Sir David, either.

Gritting her teeth together with determination, she walked towards the wooden doors. She planned to go out and find the Doctor, negotiate some way to help poor James. But it turned out that she didn't even have to leave the TARDIS. Before she reached the twin doors, they burst open, the Doctor charging recklessly inside. He slammed them behind him, eyes wild. "Nearly got me that time, Liz! Better luck _next_ time, eh?" he panted, to no one in particular. Then he noticed Martha, and paled. "Martha," he murmured gravely.

"Doctor," she whispered, afraid to speak any louder, in case her voice broke. "Where's…where's Queen Elizabeth, Sir David?" A third name popped into her brain, but she stubbornly shoved it away again.

"You've been out for a bit." He didn't seem to want to meet her eyes. "I took care of the Voyager ship, towed it out into space where it'll harmlessly collide with the sun. And as for the scouts that fled…well, I always wondered where those rumors of hairy beasts roaming the countryside came from. Well, not really. I've actually never heard any of the rumors, but it's only a guess what will happen. They'll all die out eventually." He winced. "Er…sorry. Poor choice of words. _Any_way, that was just me getting rid of, er, sending Her Majesty and Sir David back into Buckingham Palace. Sir Davey threw an ax at me, but he missed." The Doctor grinned, then his contented expression slipped as he finally looked at her.

"What about James?" Martha breathed, choking on the name.

The Doctor looked solemn. "Ah…took him home. To his family. Three sisters and a brother. Their parents died a while ago, so it's just them. They'll have services, that kind of thing." He stopped for a few seconds, and when he spoke again, his voice was uncharacteristically gentle. "I told them that he died in battle, defending queen and country. He died with honor, Martha. Lots of it."

She stubbornly raised her face towards his, refusing to break down. "This is a _time machine_. Can't we just go back and…make it so he never died?" she asked hopelessly, somehow already knowing the answer.

He shook his head kindly, seeming to understand what she was going through. "I'm _so_ sorry, Martha. I really am. But you _know_ it doesn't work that way."

Martha swallowed hard, putting on a brave smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I do. Sorry."

"Think nothing of it. No, really. Nothing at all." He grinned at her, then casually put one arm round her shoulders, guiding her towards the console. "Come on. I think I know just the thing to get your mind off things."

* * *

The mansion was large and forlorn. Vines climbed all over its large metal gate, showing that the place hadn't been cared for in quite some time. Spread all across the tangled front lawn was a collection of worn statues, faded gray with time. They were angels, wings hunched behind them and hands lightly covering their weeping faces.

Martha stepped from the TARDIS, brow creasing. She folded her arms against the nippy breeze, glancing at their dismal surroundings. "So where's this, then?" she asked in a thick voice, clearing her throat. She _wouldn't_ cry. _Definitely_ not. At least, not until she was alone.

The Doctor patted down the front of his coat, looking bemused. Then he reached into its folds, triumphantly pulled out a translucent blue folder, and waved it in the air. "Ah-_ha_! Just what we were looking for, eh?"

Martha simply stared at him. After all that had happened, she wasn't really in the mood for guessing games. "Doctor. Tell me what we're doing here," she said patiently.

His lively expression fell, until he resembled a puppy she had just kicked. "Don't you remember this folder? The oh-so-important folder given to me by a perky blonde and her astonished -looking bloke with the carton of milk?"

"No," she replied shortly. "I've been sort of busy since then." She could feel a headache coming on, and bitterly rubbed her aching temple. She was trying her best to block out the image of the smudged face and brilliant green eyes that kept trying to pop into her mind. _God. Oh, James. If I'd had any choice, I _wouldn't_ have let you die,_ she thought, blinking back the tears she could feel burning her eyes.

"–rtha?" The Doctor was peering down at her with concern, and Martha shook her head to tune back into his manic flow of words. "I _said_, are you all right, Martha?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm…_fine_," she answered him, once again clearing her throat. James wouldn't want her to be sad about him forever. It would be better to dwell on her happy memories of him, and keep them close to her heart. And that was what she would do.

The Doctor rocked back on his heels, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Er…we can always cancel this little trip, if you want," he said reluctantly. "Go someplace else. Maybe the Peaceful Planet. Welllll, it's actually called _Doogānndoola_, but 'the Peaceful Planet' is much more easier on the tongue, I think. Not that Doogānndoola is actually called Doogānndoola yet. Much less the Peaceful Planet. It's actually called Traknekk. Will be for another, oh, century or so?"

Martha couldn't help smiling a little at his antics, glancing nonchalantly towards one of the angel statues. Her eyes widened. "Is it just me, or is that statue just a _bit_ closer than it was earlier?" she asked guardedly.

"But we could always skip past the Traknekk business and go straight to the Doogānndoola, which makes _plenty_ of sense to me. Unless you like Traknekks. Though they're a bit slimy for my tastes." The Doctor paused, as though realizing that his companion had been speaking to him. "Um…what was that, Martha?"

She pointed. "That statue. Over there. I thought I just saw it…move."

The Doctor simply grinned, shaking his head. "Don't be _preposterous_. _Quite_ an imagination you've got, Martha Jones."

She planted both hands on her hips. "But you haven't read that file yet, have you? You don't know _what's_ going to happen. And besides, I _think_ I remember seeing a picture of a statue just like those in there earlier."

The Doctor blinked twice, cheery grin seeming frozen. "That's…that's…I think you're right, Martha. I'd better look into that." He hastily opened the folder and began flipping through the various clippings and handwritten notes, walking towards the mansion at the same time.

Suppressing a shudder and glancing one last time at the eerie sculptures, Martha followed him into the unknown.

* * *

**So…yeah. That was supposed to lead up into the beginning of _Blink_. So this story was before that episode, but also after. If that makes sense to all of you. lol An****yway, thanks to all of you for sticking with me during this fic. Keep an eye out for more whumpy stories of mine, because countless others are sure to follow. :P Oh, and please review one last time if you get the chance!**


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